A group of Republican senators led by veteran lawmaker Ted Cruz said Saturday they would not vote next week to certify Joe Biden's election win -- the latest last-ditch move to support Donald Trump's efforts to undermine the vote.
The Republicans' statement, signed by Cruz and six other current senators along with four senators-elect, asserts that "allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes."
The group said that when Congress convenes in a joint session on Wednesday -- for what normally would be a pro-forma certification of Biden's victory -- they will demand the creation of a special commission to conduct "an emergency 10-day audit" of the election results.
The statement says individual states could then convene special legislative sessions and potentially revise their vote totals.
The 11 signees join Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who said earlier that he planned to raise objections on Wednesday.
According to a joint statement released Saturday, joining Cruz are: GOP Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; James Lankford, R-Okla.; Steve Daines, R-Mont.; John Kennedy, R-La.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; and Mike Braun, R-Ind.; as well as Sens.-elect Cynthia Lummis; R-Wyo.; Roger Marshall, R-Kan.; Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.; and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.
A Republican member of the House of Representatives, Louie Gohmert, has also announced his plan to oppose certification, and more than 100 House Republicans reportedly will back his challenge.
Gohmert sought to further raise the stakes with a lawsuit that would have given Vice President Mike Pence -- traditionally in a ceremonial role in Wednesday's session -- the power to overturn the election result.
Pence opposed that effort, and a federal judge in Texas on Friday rejected the suit.
The Hawley and Gohmert challenges will ensure that Congress must meet to hear the complaints.