Sherrill slams Trump’s ‘chilling’ call and ‘personal grab for power’ by GOP lawmakers

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.) at vaccination of Morristown Medical Center healthcare workers, Dec. 15, 2020. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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By Claire Drewniak

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.) called Republican senators’ last-ditch efforts to overturn the presidential election “a personal grab for power,” and described President Trump’s weekend call to Georgia’s Secretary of State as “chilling.”

“It’s really shocking to have a President of the United States trying to undermine our democracy like this,” she said on Monday, referring to Trump’s call pressuring the Georgia official to “find” votes to reverse the election.

Sherrill’s remarks came on Brian Lehrer’s program on WNYC. 

“This trend in the Republican party, in the Senate, of really just working on individual personal power, at quite frankly the expense of our country and our democracy, is something that is growing in the Senate. It’s very concerning,” she said.

Congress will convene this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, to count electoral votes. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) will lead a GOP challenge, calling for an investigation into alleged election fraud.

Although the unprecedented ploy is not expected to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Congress will have to vote on it anyway.

Trump and his allies have brought 60 court cases alleging fraud, and requested numerous recounts. Virtually all were denied for lack of evidence.  Biden, the former Vice President, defeated Trump by more than seven million votes, with a 306-232 margin in the Electoral College.

“There’s no merit to some idea that our democracy is not working,” said Sherrill, a Navy veteran and former federal prosecutor who is starting her second term.

“So, to have this group of senators, all of whom have taken an oath to the Constitution to be seated, to have them really have no policy agenda, no ideology and belief in our democracy, but to rather just focus on a personal grab for power, is really, really disheartening.

“The election is over, the court cases are over, they have been lost by the Republicans…it’s time for us to transition.”

Over the weekend, news outlets published a recording of President Trump’s hour-long call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican.  “I just want to find 11,780 votes” to change the outcome, Trump is heard saying.

The president also implied–falsely, legal experts say–that the Georgia official could be subject to prosecution for not heeding the president’s wishes.

Raffensperger held firm, telling Trump that his information was incorrect.  Democratic  Reps. Ted Lieu of California and Kathleen Rice of New York have asked FBI Director Chris Wray to investigate Trump for election crimes.

Certifying Electoral College results in Congress is a formal procedure that usually attracts scant attention. In fact, dating back to George Washington’s election in 1789, there has never been a Congressional challenge to such results, or a less-than-peaceful transition of power, Sherrill said.

The congresswoman from Montclair represents most of Morris County and parts of Essex, Passaic and Sussex counties. In 2018, Sherrill became the first Democrat in more than 30 years elected to serve the 11th District.

Correspondent Marion Filler contributed to this story.

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