The Inaugural Committee in the US House of Representatives today has refused to pass a resolution that would have acknowledged Joe Biden as the president-elect. Rep. Steny Hoyer brought the "motion to affirm that inaugural preparations" would commence for Joe Biden, and Republicans on the committee stoutly refused.
Today, at a meeting of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, I offered a motion to affirm that inaugural preparations are for President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Republicans rejected that motion. https://t.co/tLtuI1514p
— Steny (Wear a Mask) Hoyer (@LeaderHoyer) December 8, 2020
All three Republicans on the Committee, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Sen. Mitch McConnell, and Sen. Roy Blunt, refused to support the motion. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar round out the JCCIC along with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
Top Rs - McConnell, McCarthy and Blunt - effectively rejected recognizing Biden as president-elect by voting against a resolution offered by Hoyer that said the congressional inaugural committee was preparing for the inauguration of President-elect Biden and VP-elect Harris.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 8, 2020
Sen. Blunt took issue with the motion, saying that the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) was trying to "get ahead of the electoral process. Blunt said that the "JCCIC is facing the challenge of planning safe Inaugural Ceremonies during a pandemic," and that that they should "adhere to the committee's long-standing tradition of bipartisan cooperation."
NEW: Sen. @RoyBlunt responds to Hoyer’s attempt to pass a resolution on election results during the inaugural committee planning meeting: https://t.co/WP5nfMJ2RF pic.twitter.com/CusAi4Flgy
— Ben Siegel (@benyc) December 8, 2020
While some termed this a "simple resolution," there are many in the GOP that are not prepared to give up battling the election out through the court system.
NEW: The Inaugural Committee fails to pass simple resolution essentially acknowledging Biden as president-elect after all Republicans opposed.
— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) December 8, 2020
Hoyer offered the resolution, which failed 3-3. Other committee members are Pelosi, McConnell, McCarthy, Blunt and Klobuchar