IL Congressman Bost supports Trump lawsuit, but says to have ‘faith in our elections’
The Republican congressman representing one of Illinois’ most conservative regions says Americans should trust the results of the presidential election.
But he also supports a lawsuit challenging those results, a lawsuit rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court Friday evening.
U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro was one of 126 House Republicans who signed on to a legal brief supporting the Texas lawsuit that asked the Supreme Court to overturn votes in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, which went to President-elect Joe Biden.
“President Trump is using the legal means available to him to ensure that every legal vote is counted,” Bost said in a statement Tuesday, prior signing on to the amicus brief. “At a time of great uncertainty for our country, it is vitally important that the American people have faith in our elections and trust the results.”
Bost followed up after signing the brief with a statement Friday saying the lawsuit represents an effort “to ensure that the American people can have faith in our elections and trust the results.” The Supreme Court, he added, is the “final arbiter in cases of election irregularities.”
Later Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed the case in an unsigned order stating, “Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections. All other pending motions are dismissed as moot.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood of Peoria also signed on to the brief.
The suit had little chance of success to begin with. It claimed that officials in the four battleground states unconstitutionally changed their election systems to allow expanded mail-in voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Supreme Court earlier this week rejected a similar case seeking to overturn Biden’s win in Pennsylvania, and more than 50 other suits filed in lower courts have all failed for lack of evidence indicating widespread fraud.
The Department of Homeland Security and Trump’s ally, U.S. Attorney General William Barr, have both said they found no indication of substantial fraud that would overturn the election.
But GOP lawmakers, leery of angering Trump voters — and damaging their own future political prospects — are nonetheless supporting the unfounded lawsuits.
Not all Illinois Republicans support the lawsuit
Bost’s Republican colleague from central Illinois, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville, did not sign on to the brief, nor did Republican U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Kankakee or retiring John Shimkus of Collinsville.
While fraud may have occurred in the 2020 election, it’s “not enough to change the outcome,” as Trump has claimed, Kinzinger said in a video posted to YouTube on Tuesday.
“You may not like the outcome of the election, but that doesn’t mean that our 2020 election was fake,” Kinzinger said. “It’s real. It counts, and we need to move forward. Failing to accept this reality puts the country in a very dangerous moment in time. As a society we’ve become unmoored from facts and reality and we’re now in danger of failing to properly carry out the duties that prior generations have entrusted us with like a peaceful transfer of power.”
Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday, but earlier this week acknowledged Biden would likely become president.
“Well, (Trump) has every right to make sure that every legal challenge that he and his team want to mount is made,” Davis said in an interview with Bloomington-Normal NPR affiliate WGLT. “ ... And I fully anticipate based upon the results, the Electoral College will choose Joe Biden as the next president.”
Just four days after the Nov. 3 election, Shimkus congratulated Biden as president-elect.
“While never perfect, American elections have consistently been free and fair. Our local and state election officials do important and under-appreciated work to ensure they are. This year’s election is no different,” Shimkus wrote. “The peaceful transition of power is a signal to the world of the strength of democracy and the resilience of our Republic. Even though I supported his opponent, I wish President-elect Joe Biden well.”
Republican Congresswoman-elect Mary Miller, who will replace Shimkus, supported the lawsuit in a post on social media Friday.
“This is the only way we can all move forward together in confidence,” Miller said.
Illinois AG does not back the suit
Seventeen state’s attorneys general have signaled support for the lawsuit, including those in Missouri and Kansas. They say the case poses questions that should be examined.
“Kansas ran its elections honestly and by the rules that are supposed to apply evenly to all of us. Texas asserts it can prove four states violated the U.S. Constitution in an election that affects all Americans, so Texas should be heard,” said Republican Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who is considering a run for governor in 2022.
But Illinois’ attorney general, Democrat Kwame Raoul, called the suit baseless and urged the Supreme Court to reject it along with 23 other states attorneys general in their own amicus brief.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said supporting the lawsuit is “irresponsible” and called the case “ridiculous.”
“I don’t know why they would sign on except for apparently undying commitment and loyalty to a failed president,” Pritzker said Friday at a news conference in Chicago.
On Monday, members of the Electoral College from all 50 states will meet in their respective state capitols to cast their final votes for president and vice president. Their votes were already made conclusive on Tuesday when the “safe harbor” deadline passed. That’s the date under federal law by which all states must have settled any challenges.
Biden won 306 of the total 538 electoral college votes, as well as more than 7 million more popular votes than Trump.
Congress will officially count the electoral college votes on Jan. 6, followed by inauguration on Jan. 20
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 12:57 PM.
