Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pressed Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on his vow to contest the Electoral College results Jan. 6 on a Senate GOP conference call Thursday.
The problem there was, however, Hawley was not even on the call, according to Politico's Alex Isenstadt.
Isenstadt tweeted:
"McConnell held a conference call with Senate Republicans this morning in which he pressed Hawley multiple times to explain his plans to object to the Electoral College. McConnell was met with silence, per multiple people familiar with the call. Turns out Hawley wasn't present"
One realized Hawley was not on the call, McConnell warned vulnerable 2022 Senate Republicans challenging the election results could have negative consequences.
Isenstadt tweeted:
"McConnell has expressed concern that GOP senators up for re-election in '22 will be forced to take a vote on a seemingly pointless endeavor that will imperil them either in a general or primary election"
After hearing about the snub, Hawley shot back a reminder to McConnell, Democrats have contested past Republican Electoral College victories in an email to Senate colleagues, according to Axios' Jonathan Swan.
His full email to the Senate GOP, according to Isenstadt's tweet:
"I was unable to join this morning's call, but I understand the leader gave me the opportunity to share my concerns regarding the upcoming joint session.
"If you've been speaking to folks at home, I'm sure you know how deeply angry and disillusioned many, many people are — and how frustrated that Congress has taken little or no action. I want to thank Ron Johnson for holding a hearing on election irregularities.
"I strongly believe there should be a full fledged congressional investigation and also a slate of election integrity legislation. I intend to object during the certification process on Jan. 6 in order to force these issues to the fore and to point out the unprecedented failure of the states like Pennsylvania to follow their own election laws and the unprecedented efforts of the big tech corporations to interfere with this election.
"As I said in my statement [Wednesday], our Democrat colleagues have used the certification process in recent years to raise issues of election integrity. I strongly believe it is entirely appropriate for those of us concerned about the integrity of this last election to do the same.
"I have copied by full statement from [Wednesday] below.
"If you have any questions feel free to give me a call.
"Wishing you and your families a happy and healthy new year, Josh."
"Jan. 6 statement:
"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. They were praised by Democratic leadership and the media when they did. And they were entitled to do so. But now those of us concerned about the integrity of this election are entitled to do the same.
“I cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on January 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws. And I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, in support of Joe Biden. At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far failed to act.
"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 to raise these critical issues."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.