For the first time since US presidential election day—when Trump and leading Republicans refused to recognise the results of the polls, citing election fraud—numerous top Trump allies have announced support for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. The electoral college had yesterday certified the vote in favour of Biden. With states affirming the results, the Republicans faced a pivotal choice; they could either declare Biden the president-elect, or stand by Trump.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, one of the highest-profile Republican leaders, and a strong supporter of Trump, sought to normalise relations with the coming Biden presidency while avoiding the spectacle of pitched legal fight that would divide the party. "I want to congratulate president-elect Joe Biden," McConnell said as he opened the senate. "Many of us had hoped the presidential election would yield a different result," he said. "But our system of government has the processes to determine who will be sworn in on January 20. The electoral college has spoken."
From there, the floodgates opened. Several GOP senators confirmed they had spoken with Biden, including Trump ally Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mitt Romney of Utah, the GOP's 2012 presidential nominee.
"At some point you have to face the music," said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking GOP leader. Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the chairman of the inaugural committee, said the panel will now deal with Biden as the president-elect. Just last week, the Republicans on the inauguration committee had declined to publicly do so. He said Monday's electoral college vote was significant.
Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn said barring further legal challenges it appears Biden will be president. "That is sort of the nature of these elections. You got to have a winner. You got to have a loser," Cornyn said, adding that once Trump's legal arguments are exhausted, "Joe Biden's on a path to be president of the United States". The turnaround comes nearly six weeks after election day.
Some GOP lawmakers have vowed to carry the fight to January 6 when Congress votes to accept or reject the electoral college results. Others have said Trump's legal battles should continue toward resolution by inauguration day, January 20. "It is a very, very narrow path for the president," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a top Trump ally. "But having said that, I think we'll let those legal challenges play out."
Trump is trying to throw out the ballots of thousands of Americans, particularly those who voted by mail, in dozens of lawsuits that have mostly failed. His legal team is claiming irregularities. However, the Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid from Texas' attorney general and backed by Trump to block the ballots of millions of voters in battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that went in favour of Biden.
Former house speaker John Boehner, a Republican, has also said it's clear that Biden is the winner. Among GOP senators, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney and Lisa Murkowski have been most outspoken in declaring Biden the winner.
Still, many Republicans in Congress are backing Trump's legal battles. Some 120 House Republicans signed on to the failed Texas lawsuit last week asking the Supreme Court to take up the case seeking to throw out election results in the swing-states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia.
-Inputs from agencies
