Fox News anchor Bret Baier pressed Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) on Monday night over the conservative lawmaker’s ploy to object to the presidential election results in Congress this week, directly asking him if he has a responsibility to tell his constituents that Joe Biden will still become president later this month.
Late last month, Hawley became the first Republican senator to jump aboard President Donald Trump’s last-ditch effort to overthrow Biden’s decisive victory, joining the majority of House Republicans who now say they will reject the Electoral College results. Since Hawley announced his plan, at least 12 other GOP senators have come forward to say they will also object to the electoral slate.
Asked by Baier whether his “ultimate goal” is to overturn the election and keep Trump in office, Hawley initially insisted that he was just trying to “stand up” for his constituents who have “major concerns” about the election’s integrity.
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“They want new election laws to make sure that elections are secure going forward,” he added. “This is my chance to stand up and speak for them as somebody who has to take their concerns seriously and speak out. That’s what I’m going to do.”
After dodging Fox anchor Martha MacCallum’s question about whether he expects to change the outcome of the election, Hawley contended that he was just addressing concerns over the “allegations of irregularity” in states like Pennsylvania, which Biden won.
Baier, meanwhile, noted that the Supreme Court of the United States did not take up any of the cases contesting Pennsylvania’s election laws and ballots, adding that courts across the country have largely thrown out Trump’s election lawsuits due to lack of evidence and standing.
“Are you trying to say that as of Jan. 20, that President Trump will be president?” Baier asked the Missouri senator.
“Well, Bret, it depends on what happens on Wednesday. It’s why we have the debate,” Hawley replied.
“No, it doesn’t,” the Fox News anchor said.
“The states, by the Constitution, say they certify the election, they did certify it,” Baier continued. “By the Constitution, Congress doesn’t have the right to overturn the certification. At least as most experts read it.”
As Hawley attempted to point to a statute to justify his plan, Baier jumped in to note that there appears to be no constitutional path for Congress to flip the results.
“It says that we have a vote of certification and that we have the opportunity to debate the results, to certify the results, we count them and then certify. My point is, this is my only opportunity during the process to raise an objection and to be heard,” the Trump-boosting lawmaker declared.
“Don’t you have a responsibility to your constituents to tell them that it’s not going to be President Trump as of Jan. 21 as well?” Baier fired back.
Hawley once again asserted that he was “trying to do something more than just that” and that this process was all “about the integrity of our election” and “taking a stand.”
