GOP senators to attend Biden inauguration Wednesday after objecting to his Electoral College win

At least half of the eight GOP senators who voted against President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory will be attending the inauguration Wednesday in Washington to support the peaceful transfer of power, Fox News has learned.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who spearheaded the Jan. 6 effort to toss out electoral votes for Biden, will attend the official swearing-in at the Capitol. Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who joined with Cruz in objecting to Biden's victory before a Joint Session of Congress, also will attend Biden's inauguration, their offices confirmed.

And Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who voted to reject Biden's electors in the state of Pennsylvania, also will show up Wednesday. Scott last week even urged President Trump to attend, too, but Trump declined.

"I plan to attend and believe it is an important tradition that demonstrates the peaceful transfer of power to our people and to the world," Scott said last week.

Along with Cruz, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., led the effort to object to Biden's Electoral College votes even after a deadly riot at the Capitol interrupted the counting of the votes. Both Cruz and Hawley have caught plenty of heat for ginning up the base about the long-shot challenges that fed into the Capitol riot.

It was unclear if Hawley would attend the inauguration since his office did not respond to requests for comment.

The three other senators who voted against Biden's victory in at least one state were Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., and Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. Their offices didn't respond to questions from Fox News on whether they will attend the swearing-in on Wednesday for Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

The senators who objected said they were representing the concerns of their constituents who had deep doubts that other states' election processes weren't fair and secure. Trump fueled the distrust of the election results by refusing to concede, claiming he won the election in a landslide and spreading allegations of extensive election fraud.

Other senators who initially raised concerns about the election's validity with Cruz and demanded an emergency 10-day audit of the results also will be attending the inauguration, including Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Steve Daines, R-Mont., and James Lankford, R-Okla. The trio initially said they intended to object to the Electoral College certification, but ultimately joined with the majority of their GOP colleagues in approving the results after the riot.

All state election officials stood by the integrity of their certified results and dozens of courts tossed out Trump's lawsuits to challenge the election. Federal officials, including outgoing Attorney General William Barr, rejected Trump's claims of widespread fraud.

Wednesday's inauguration will be like no other in history. The ceremonies are scaled back because of the raging coronavirus pandemic. The military presence in Washington is enormous after pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to stop the certification of Biden's win.

Trump, who was impeached by the House on Wednesday for his role in inciting the riot, has refused to acknowledge defeat and will leave for his Mar-a-lago resort in Florida on the morning of Jan. 20 to avoid the inauguration all together. He has not spoken to Biden to concede. Vice President M... (Read more)

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