Growing number of Republicans push back against effort to challenge Electoral College certification

Nearly two dozen GOP senators are pushing back against fellow Republicans who plan to challenge the congressional certification of President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s Electoral College votes.

One of the latest is Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who supported President Trump’s fight in the courts and is open to any new evidence of voter fraud but said the courts have found nothing of substance.

“Our Constitution is a magnificent document — and this is coming from a man who was not even fully counted as a man in the original version,” said Mr. Scott, the sole Black Republican senator. “As I read the Constitution, there is no constitutionally viable means for the Congress to overturn an election wherein the states have certified and sent their electors.

“For their theory to work, Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats would have to elect Donald Trump president rather than Joe Biden,” he added. “That it is not going to happen, not today or any other day.”

In addition to Mr. Scott, Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Jerry Moran of Kansas also announced Tuesday they would not support a challenge to the Electoral College count.

“Any one person’s disappointment, however, cannot and should not override the legitimate votes of millions of Americans and our duty to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States. Doing so would be a violation of my oath, do irreparable harm to our great democracy, and set a dangerous precedent for future elections,” he said.

Only 11 senators have joined Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley in their plans to object to Mr. Biden’s Electoral College victory unless Congress approves an emergency 10-day audit of the results by an election commission.

Under federal law, the majority in the House and Senate would need to agree to reject any state’s presidential electors.

So far, 22 Senate Republicans have said they will vote to certify Mr. Biden’s win, essentially ensuring that Mr. Trump’s last bid to contest the election will fail even as it splits the GOP.

Mr. Trump, who maintains that he did not lose the election, has continued to pressure members of his party on Capitol Hill, dubbing those not supporting him “The Surrender Caucus” and even going as far as to threaten primary challengers.