Virginia Rep. Rob Wittman Joins GOP Challenge of Biden Victory

MANASSAS, VA – Virginia Rep. Rob Wittman announced Monday on social media that he will join the Republican challenge of the certification of Electoral College votes of President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday.

In a series of tweets on his Twitter feed Monday, Wittman – who represents Virginia’s 1st Congressional District which includes portions of Prince William County – said he is “in full support” of objecting to electors “in order to debate and examine” election results in which Constitutional concerns have been raised.”

Wittman said in the tweets that he was among those sent an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court after the Texas Attorney General filed a lawsuit challenging the election results in Pennsylvania and other key states that led to Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump in the November general election.

Biden captured 306 Electoral College votes in the election as compared to 222 for Trump, who has refused to concede the election. Trump has repeatedly sought to have election results overturned, claiming that the election was rigged and fraudulent after Biden won in landslide fashion. All of the challenges have been either ignored or been rejected by judges at various levels, including the Supreme Court, which denied the suit for a lack of legal standing on Dec. 11

Now, Wittman joins a small number of Republican lawmakers who have pledged to challenge the Electoral College votes on Wednesday, which remains the final step in officially declaring Biden the winner of the election before he is set to be sworn in on Jan. 20.

Last week, a number of Republicans —led by Sen. Ted Cruz — said they will challenge the certification of the Electoral College results, which is typically a formality in the final days before an incoming President takes the Oath of Office. Cruz and 11 other Republicans announced they would challenge the results on Wednesday after Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley announced that he would not support the certification, maintaining that several states did not follow election rules.

In an Op-Ed piece that he wrote and that appeared in several newspapers across the state, Wittman also called for the results of elections to be challenged if need be. But, he said that he only supports Constitutionally-grounded methods of "questioning the system."

"I don’t support anything other than an orderly transition of power – that said, we cannot be afraid of asking the tough questions," Wittman wrote in the piece.

The opposition comes despite the fact that more than a dozen Republicans have said that they support the certification of the Electoral College results and support moving on and declaring Biden the official winner.

“I have concerns that several states failed to follow the Constitution in conducting elections and deserve to ensure a fair and free election,” Wittman tweeted on Monday.