BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is criticizing fellow Republicans in Congress for pursuing challenges to vote tallies in some states in an effort to overturn the election of President-elect Joe Biden.
“President-elect Joe Biden won the election fair and square,” Baker said when asked about Republican plans to challenge the vote during a press conference Monday.
Trump has enlisted support from a dozen Republican senators and up to 100 House Republicans to challenge the Electoral College vote when Congress convenes in a joint session to confirm Biden’s 306-232 win.
“The noise and the accusations and the commentary about challenging this or that is an affront to democracy and to the voice of the people who turned out in record numbers in this election,” Baker said. “For the life of me I can’t figure out how people in my party can say all of the other elections in which their folks barely won were fine and the only one they seem to have any concerns about is at the top of the ticket.”
“It is my hope that these initiatives fail,” he added, calling for an orderly transition of power from President Trump to Biden.
It’s not the first time Baker has clashed with Trump. Baker has said he left his ballot blank for president in the 2016 and 2020 general elections rather than vote for Trump or any other candidate.
Trump called on Republican lawmakers Monday to reverse his election loss.
Baker said Congress should instead be focused on helping distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to states.
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