Tiffany, Bergman object to certifying Biden’s victories in two states
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two Wisconsin Republicans objected to certifying Joe Biden’s victories in a pair of states before his win was confirmed in a meeting of Congress that was interrupted by the storming of the Capitol by a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump.
Reps. Tom Tiffany and Scott Fitzgerald, the state’s two newest members of Congress, objected to certifying votes in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Those were the only two states where votes on objection were taken.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson initially signed on to an objection to Arizona’s votes before the riot Wednesday afternoon, but ultimately voted against it and one in Pennsylvania that occurred early Thursday.
Texas U.S. Rep. Louis Gohmert objected to Wisconsin’s electoral votes, but no senator signed on so there was no debate over that or vote on the objection.
Tiffany, who represents northern Wisconsin’s expansive 7th Congressional District, was first elected in a special election last year and then to a full two-year term in November. Fitzgerald, the former state Senate majority leader, was elected in November to replace the retiring Jim Sensenbrenner in a district that covers western Milwaukee suburbs and counties between Madison and Milwaukee.
Tiffany first announced on Tuesday that he would object. Fitzgerald did not say ahead of the vote what he would do.
U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman of Watersmeet joined two other Michigan Republicans in Congress who objected to the Electoral College votes in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Also in opposition were Tim Walberg, R-Tipton; and Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township.
A challenge to Michigan’s 16 electoral votes cast for Biden by members of the U.S. House did not find a senator needed to move forward, so no debate or vote took place, according to MLive.com.
Bergman issued a statement just after the Arizona vote saying “irregularities, discrepancies, and usurpation of state election laws” require an investigation into the 2020 election.
“The Electoral Count Act of 1887 gives Congress the opportunity to object to any state where any member believes votes were either ‘unlawfully certified’ or ‘not regularly given,'” Bergman said in the statement, as reported by MLive.com. “That is what I did today, and what many before me have done — including in recent elections.”
He added, “I said before, the decision we have before us was not binary — it was not founded in overturning an election, but grounded in securing free and fair elections and protecting election integrity. Congress and state legislatures have an obligation to provide restored confidence to the tens of millions of Americans who have lost faith in our election process.”
Bergman, a retired U.S. Marine, also denounced the mob of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol, calling their actions “un-American and a disgrace to our republic.”




