'Mike Lee is here, but I'm a little angry at him': Moment President calls out senator during Georgia runoff rally for refusing to join Kelly Loeffler and back Ted Cruz's 'Dirty Dozen' push to overturn election
- President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Republican senators to join their colleagues in the effort to overturn Joe Biden's election victory
- He targeted Senator Mike Lee, announcing he's 'angry' at the Utah Republican at a campaign rally in Georgia on Monday night
- 'Mike Lee is here, but I'm a little angry at him,' Trump said
- His comments came after Lee announced he didn't support objecting to the election results - a move being pushed by some GOP lawmakers
- Meanwhile, Senator Kelly Loeffler announced that she will object
- She addressed the cheering crowd as a beaming Trump stood behind her
- 'This president fought for us, we're fighting for him,' Loeffler said
- Congress meets in a joint session at 1 p.m. on Wednesday to certify
President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Republican senators to join their colleagues in the effort to overturn Joe Biden's election victory.
And he's doing it publicly and bluntly.
Trump targeted Senator Mike Lee on Monday night, announcing he's 'angry' at the Utah Republican at a campaign rally in Georgia for the two Senate candidates in that state.
'Mike Lee is here, but I'm a little angry at him,' Trump said at the event.
His comments came after Lee announced he didn't support objecting to the election results when Congress meets on Wednesday to certify them. Lee's Republican colleagues, Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, are leading the objection charge in the upper chamber.
![President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Republican senators to over turn the election results, targeting Senator Mike Lee with the announcement he's 'angry' at the Utah Republican at a campaign rally in Georgia on Monday night](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/14/37625410-9114641-image-a-10_1609857756054.jpg)
President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Republican senators to over turn the election results, targeting Senator Mike Lee with the announcement he's 'angry' at the Utah Republican at a campaign rally in Georgia on Monday night
![Senator Mike Lee sent a letter to his Republican colleagues in the Senate explaining why he doesn't support the plan to objection to states' results when Congress meets Wednesday to certify them](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/14/37625408-9114641-image-m-15_1609857777934.jpg)
Senator Mike Lee sent a letter to his Republican colleagues in the Senate explaining why he doesn't support the plan to objection to states' results when Congress meets Wednesday to certify them
![Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/14/37625404-9114641-Republican_Senator_Ted_Cruz_of_Texas-a-17_1609857916919.jpg)
![Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/14/37625402-9114641-Republican_Senator_Josh_Hawley_of_Missouri-m-16_1609857913283.jpg)
Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, are leading the objection charge
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/15/37630368-9114641-image-a-21_1609861256816.jpg)
But Lee sent a letter to his Republican Senate colleagues explaining his lack of support in challenging the election results. President-elect Joe Biden won the electoral college with 306 votes to Trump's 232.
'With respect to presidential elections, there is no authority for Congress to make value judgments in the abstract regarding any state's election laws or the manner in which they have been implemented,' Lee wrote.
But other senators are joining the effort, including Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, who is on the ballot in Tuesday's special election in that state.
Trump, who held a rally for her and fellow Republican Senator David Perdue, also on the ballot, Monday night, praised the two for supporting the objection effort.
'Pleased to announce that @KLoeffler & @sendavidperdue have just joined our great #StopTheSteal group of Senators. They will fight the ridiculous Electoral College Certification of Biden. How do you certify numbers that have now proven to be wrong and, in many cases, fraudulent!,' the president tweeted on Tuesday morning along with an encouragement for Georgians to vote for them.
There is one problem, however. Perdue is no longer a sitting senator. His term expired January 3 and the winner of Tuesday's contest will be take that Senate seat so he is not eligible to participate in Wednesday's certification process.
Loeffler, in contrast, was appointed to fill a vacant seat so she will hold it until the results of the special election are certified.
When Congress meets in a joint session at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Trump's allies in the House are looking to object to the results from six states: Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada.
But senators are looking at only joining in the objections for three or four, Politico reported, primarily Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.
Both a senator and a congressman must object for it to be considered.
It's unclear how long the process to certify the electoral college results will take.
Each state's tally is read in alphabetical order and any objection must be raised at the time. Then lawmakers head to their respective chambers for two hours of debate before a final vote on the objection. If multiple states garner objections, the process will go into Thursday.
However, the senators weren’t excited about debating past midnight, Politico reported, in a sign the effort may lose steam if none of the objections are sustained.
And the odds of that happening are slim.
For a state's results to be dismissed, majorities of both chambers have to vote to sustain the objection. If one chamber votes to toss the state's votes and the other doesn't, the objection is dismissed.
The Democratically-controlled House is unlikely to support sustaining an objection, meaning the states' results will stand and Biden will ultimately be declared the winner.
Additionally, the Republican-controlled Senate isn't likely to vote in favor of an objection, either. The GOP has a slim margin in the upper chamber and a number of Republican senators have voiced their objections to the objection process.
'At the end of the day, which could be the middle of the night, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be officially declared the next President and Vice President of the United States,' Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote to Democratic House members on Monday.
Meanwhile, Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler is the latest Republican vowing to object to Biden's victory, a major political gambit on the eve of her runoff election.
She joins at least a dozen Republican senators now involved in the process.
Loeffler, who is facing a tight run-off on Tuesday, announced her intentions during a campaign event on Monday night, where she appeared on stage alongside President Trump.
'On January 6 I will object to the Electoral College vote,' the senator said, eliciting a chorus of cheers from the crowd.
'This president fought for us, we're fighting for him. He put America first, he put the American worker first. He stood with our men and women in law enforcement. He restored our military.'
Loeffler, who wore a mask during parts of the event but not others, then turned her attention to her 'radical liberal' challenger in tomorrow's election, Democrat Raphael Warnock.
'He attacked our police, our military. He spoke out against Israel, evangelicals, small businesses,' she said of Warnock.
'Georgia, we have to hold the line. You have to get out and vote tomorrow. We are the firewall to socialism. We have to get it done. I love you guys, thank you!'
![Senator Kelly Loeffler announced that she will object to Joe Biden's victory during a campaign event alongside President Donald Trump on Monday night](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/13/37610126-9112931-Kelly_Loeffler_announced_that_she_will_object_to_Joe_Biden_s_vic-a-9_1609853143552.jpg)
Senator Kelly Loeffler announced that she will object to Joe Biden's victory during a campaign event alongside President Donald Trump on Monday night
![Loeffler was pictured wearing a mask at some points during the event, but took it off while she was on stage](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/13/37611738-9112931-Loeffler_was_pictured_wearing_a_mask_at_some_points_during_the_e-a-12_1609853143576.jpg)
Loeffler was pictured wearing a mask at some points during the event, but took it off while she was on stage
Loeffler first signaled her intention to object to the Electoral College results on Fox News on Monday evening, saying: 'The American people deserve a platform in Congress, permitted under the Constitution, to have election issues presented so that they can be addressed.
'That's why, on January 6th, I will vote to give President Trump and the American people the fair hearing they deserve and support the objection to the Electoral College certification process.'
Loeffler is set to object to the results of the count in Georgia, though she may also contest the results in other states.
'We must restore trust, confidence and integrity in our election system,' she said.
Loeffler had previously refused to say if she would join the rogue senators' efforts to overturn Biden's win.
'I've said from the start, everything is on the table here, and I'm seriously looking at that,' she said Sunday.
But she apparently changed her mind ahead of Trump showing his support for her on Monday night.
Loeffler will be in a position to contest the presidential election results regardless of whether she defeats Warnock, as they are set to be certified before she would have to depart the Senate if the Democrat should win.
Georgia is set to head to the polls in two runoffs on Tuesday, with Loeffler and Warnock competing in one and Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican David Perdue competing in the others.
Control of the Senate rests in the hands of the runoffs, with a 50-50 split of the body a possibility if Ossoff and Warnock are both victorious.
Ties in Senate votes are broken by the Vice President, who will be Kamala Harris so long as the election results are certified.
Hawley was the first to confirm he would object to the certification of the election results.
Since then, Cruz has jumped on board, bringing a number of senators with him and further dividing the Republican Party.
Cruz was joined by Senators Ron Johnson, James Lankford, Steve Daines, John Kennedy, Marsha Blackburn, Mike Braun, along with Cynthia Lummis, Tommy Tuberville, Bill Hagerty, and Roger Marshall, all of whom will be sworn in as senators on Sunday in the new Congress.
Loeffler is not set to join Cruz's faction of dissenters, instead going out to contest the election on her own grounds.
Fox News also reports that at least 100 GOP members of the House of Representatives will be objecting to the results in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada.
Loeffler's decision to contest the results in Georgia come on the heels of the latest scandal involving the aftermath of the presidential election in that state.
This weekend, the Washington Post released audio revealing President Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to 'find' votes to increase his total by 11,000 in the state.
'All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,' Trump said during the call. 'Because we won the state.'
Raffensperger and his lawyer repeatedly pushed back against Trump's claims during the call.
Trump reportedly tried to talk to Raffensperger on at least 18 other occasions prior to the call on Saturday.
Georgia has certified the presidential election results in the state, drawing Trump's ire against both Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp.
In addition to Loeffler's stance, her de facto running mate Perdue revealed support of the plan to contest the election results, although his term in the Senate technically ended over the weekend, leaving him without an ability to join the faction.
Perdue tweeted on Monday night, 'I urge my colleagues to object. I stand with @realDonaldTrump. #GASen #gapol.'
![Senatory Hawley of Missouri (above) was the first to defy McConnell by announcing he would join House Republicans in objecting to the state tallies on January 6](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/18/37523450-9114641-Senatory_Hawley_of_Missouri_above_was_the_first_to_defy_McConnel-a-33_1609872137403.jpg)
Senatory Hawley of Missouri (above) was the first to defy McConnell by announcing he would join House Republicans in objecting to the state tallies on January 6
![Senator Ron Johnson](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/13/37523554-9112931-Senator_Ron_Johnson-a-17_1609853143693.jpg)
![Senator James Lankford](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/18/37523562-9114641-Senator_James_Lankford-a-34_1609872137405.jpg)
![Senator Steve Daines](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/13/37523564-9112931-Senator_Steve_Daines-a-19_1609853143700.jpg)
Senators (left to right) Ron Johnson, James Lankford, Steve Daines signed on with Cruz
![Senator John Kennedy](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/13/37523638-9112931-Senator_John_Kennedy-a-20_1609853143701.jpg)
![Senator Marsha Blackburn](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/13/37523640-9112931-Senator_Marsha_Blackburn-a-22_1609853143798.jpg)
![Senator Mike Braun](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/18/37523656-9114641-Senator_Mike_Braun-a-35_1609872137489.jpg)
Senators John Kennedy, Marsha Blackburn, Mike Braun also joined Cruz's faction
![Cynthia Lummis](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/13/37523762-9112931-Cynthia_Lummis-a-5_1609853143516.jpg)
![Tommy Tuberville](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/18/37523894-9114641-Tommy_Tuberville-a-36_1609872137532.jpg)
![Bill Hagerty](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/18/37523816-9114641-Bill_Hagerty-a-37_1609872137534.jpg)
![Roger Marshall](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/05/13/37523896-9112931-Roger_Marshall-a-23_1609853143803.jpg)
Also joining Cruz were incoming Senators (left to right) Cynthia Lummis, Tommy Tuberville, Bill Hagerty, and Roger Marshall, all of whom will be sworn in as senators on Sunday
Cruz and his faction are asking for an emergency 10-day audit of the election results by a commission.
While the list of those planning to object to the results seems to grow by the day, there is very little chance they will affect the outcome of the election.
For objections to succeed, they need support from both chambers of Congress, a near-impossibility with Democrats controlling the House of Representatives.
According to FiveThirtyEight, Loeffler has aligned with Trump on nearly every piece of legislation during her Senate term, only disagreeing on the National Defense Authorization Act last month.
This week, she also came out in support of Trump's hope of getting $2,000 stimulus payments to the American people according to Politico.
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