House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs praises Hawley signing on to election protest

“Following both the 2004 and 2016 elections, Democrats in Congress objected during the certification of electoral votes in order to raise concerns about election integrity. … Now those of us concerned about the integrity of this election are entitled to do the same,” Hawley said in a statement. “For these reasons, I will follow the same practice Democrat members of Congress have in years past and object during the certification process on January 6.”

Biggs told Fox News contributor Sara Carter that Hawley’s announcement will enable other senators to come forward in support of the planned protest. He said the Jan. 6 proceedings will be illuminating for a nation that has not yet enjoyed an unfettered view of voter fraud that permeated the 2020 election.

“[The Jan. 6 protest] will be the first time that the entire country won’t be censored by the left wing media. We will be out there debating election fraud,” Biggs said. “That’s the beauty of what will happen, and the American people will hear all of it, some of them for the first time,”

The congressional procedure for certifying the results of a presidential contest was established in the 1887 Electoral Count Act. According to the law, if at least one member of each chamber of Congress files a written objection to the proceedings, then both the House of Representatives and the Senate must hold a two-hour long debate, after which the entire legislature will vote whether to accept or reject the results.

Biggs believes the 1887 law is an unacceptable precedent, claiming many scholars have raised valid concerns regarding its constitutionality.

“I think the 1877 law is unconstitutional in my opinion,” he said. “The fact that we are engaging in some kind of byzantine legal fiction may have us raising this issues to the Supreme Court after January 6.”

The congressional protest is unlikely to be met with success given the current makeup of Congress. While Democrats hold a narrow majority in the House and the Republican-controlled Senate has signaled opposition to the plan; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged his caucus not to support the objection when it is brought to the floor.

The president has asked his supporters not to lose faith, publicly backing the protest. After Hawley announced his support, Trump reiterated his support, tweeting, “JANUARY SIXTH, SEE YOU IN DC!”