Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) is slamming her Republican colleagues for not publicly acknowledging Joe Biden as the president-elect.
Appearing on CNN with Anderson Cooper Tuesday evening, Demings was asked if her Republican colleagues say behind the scenes that Biden is the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
Demings took aim at President Donald Trump, âI think we all know that the current President of the United States will do and say anything and nothing that he does surprises me anymore.â
She added, âBut certainly the behavior of my colleagues, who used to say that they didnât really support a lot that the president was doing but they were afraid of political repercussionsâŚtheir behavior in this election is really disgraceful.â
âAll of them, I heard, have been asked who won the election â only 27 out of 249 acknowledged that Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States.â
Demings said that she does not âexpect betterâ from Trump, but she does âexpect better from the members of Congress,â adding, âI think itâs absolutely shameful what theyâre doing. And we see the results of this totally out of touch with reality behavior.â
Watch Demmingsâ interview below:
Demings continued to blast her Republican colleagues:
âFor the president to not say anything is bad enough, but for the members of Congress to participate in it is disgraceful.â
On Tuesday, Republicans on the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies blocked a resolution that would have acknowledged Biden as the president-elect, as IJR reported.
Trumpâs push to overturn the election results has drawn criticism from many Democrats, including House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) who called it an âattempted coup,â as IJR previously reported.
âFor my Republican colleagues not to speak up in defense of this democracy â the best thing going in the world today â to run the risk of losing this fragile democracy because of the idiosyncrasies of one person. Thatâs what I think is at stake here,â Clyburn also said during a CNN interview.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was recently asked by CNN if Trump should concede the election next Monday, to which he responded, âNo. No way, no way, no way.â
He added, âWe should still try to figure out exactly what took place here. And as I said that includes, I think, debates on the House floor â potentially on January 6.â
The Washington Post recently reported that only 27 congressional Republicans have said that Biden is the president-elect. About 88% of Republicans serving in Congress have not weighed in on who they believe won the presidential election. Meanwhile, two Republican lawmakers have said that they think Trump is the winner.
Following the Postâs report, Trump tweeted, âI am surprised there are so many. We have just begun to fight. Please send me a list of the .â.â. RINOS.â
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was asked if he would be âwilling to acknowledge that Joe Biden is the President-electâ during Tuesdayâs press conference, to which he responded, âThis has become a weekly ritual.â
âThe Electoral College is going to meet on and cast a vote,â he added. âWeâre going to have a swearing-in of the next president on . Why donât we concentrate on what we have to do the next two weeks?â
Biden revealed, however, during a CNN interview on Dec. 4 that âmore than several sitting Republican senatorsâ have privately called and congratulated him. He also noted that he understands âthe situation they find themselves in.â
