GOP Triggers Historic, Doomed Bid to Overturn Biden Win

Republican objections are all but certain to fail in Congress
Democrats seek to keep arguments focused on Constitution

Sen. Ted Cruz, front and center, and Rep. Paul Gosar, far right, are applauded by Republican colleagues for objecting to Arizonas Electoral College vote certification for Joe Biden in the House chamber on Jan. 6.Photographer: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

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By Daniel Flatley, Erik Wasson, Billy House, and Laura Litvan

January 6, 2021 at 6:26 PM UTC

Updated on

January 6, 2021 at 7:08 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

A group of House and Senate Republicans objected to Arizona’s electoral vote count during a joint session of Congress Wednesday, setting off an extraordinary -- though doomed -- attempt by President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the presidential election.

The objection, the first of three expected to come from lawmakers in both chambers, are certain to be rejected by Democrats along with a number of GOP lawmakers. But the action hardened the bitter partisanship in Congress and exposed deep rifts in the Republican Party under Trump.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell decried the attempts by some of his GOP colleagues to cast doubt on the validity of the election won by Democrat Joe Biden, warning it would put democracy in the U.S. into a “death spiral.”