Pritzker Slams 2 GOP Illinois Congressmen For Joining Texas Lawsuit Asking Supreme Court To Overturn Biden's Election Win
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Accusing them of "undying commitment and loyalty to a failed president," Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday chastised two downstate Republican congressmen for joining more than 100 of their GOP colleagues in signing on to a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a long-shot lawsuit filed by Texas seeking to delay certification of presidential electors in four battleground states won by President-elect Joe Biden.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit directly with the Supreme Court, alleging officials in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan unlawfully changed their voting laws, leading to election irregularities and skewing the results of the election. The lawsuit essentially asks the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out millions of votes in four battleground states based on baseless claims of fraud.
A total of 106 House Republicans have joined a brief backing Texas' case, which argued governors, state courts and election officials usurped the constitutional authority of state legislatures in changing election rules.
"Due in large part to those usurpations, the election of 2020 has been riddled with an unprecedented number of serious allegations of fraud and irregularities," the Republicans said.
Among the Republicans signing on to the brief were downstate Illinois Congressmen Darin LaHood and Mike Bost.
Paxton's lawsuit is asking the Supreme Court to delay the December 14 Electoral College vote and block the four states from casting their votes in the Electoral College for Mr. Biden. The president-elect won the popular vote in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan, and they all have certified their election results, formalizing Mr. Biden's victory over Mr. Trump.
The lawsuit was scorned by election officials from the four states named as an unserious effort and waste of taxpayer dollars. It has also been met with skepticism from some GOP lawmakers, including from the very states that support Texas's attempt to block certification of the Electoral College vote.
Pritzker also decried the lawsuit as "irresponsible" and "ridiculous," saying he doesn't know why Bost and LaHood would join the long-shot challenge to the presidential election results.
"I think in the land of Lincoln, I think of Republicans and Democrats as being a lot more reasonable than the people who have followed Donald Trump down every rabbit hole," Pritzker said. "I don't know why they would sign on, except for apparently undying commitment and loyalty to a failed president."
Representatives for Bost and LaHood did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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