30 GOP Former Members Of Congress Call On Trump To Accept Election Results

Thirty Republican former members of Congress are calling on President Donald Trump to recognize Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election, something he refuses to do even as the president-elect’s lead in several key states continued to grow this week.

“We believe the statements by President Trump alleging fraud in the election are efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the election and are unacceptable,” the former members of Congress said in a statement on Monday.

The ex-lawmakers noted that although Trump has every right to contest the results, “public confidence in the outcome of our elections is a bedrock of our democracy.”

The statement was signed by many GOP former members of Congress who had previously endorsed Biden’s White House bid in August, including Steve Bartlett (Texas), Tom Coleman (Mo.), Charlie Dent (Pa.) and Mickey Edwards (Okla.).

Only a handful of current GOP lawmakers have acknowledged Biden’s election victory, including Don Bacon (Neb.), Francis Rooney (Fla.), Will Hurd (Texas), Paul Mitchell (Mich.) and Don Young (Alaska).

Only four Republican senators have acknowledged Biden’s victory and congratulated him for winning the White House: Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah and Ben Sasse of Nebraska.

Most other Republican elected officials have either stayed quiet or embraced Trump’s baseless claims about voter fraud.

“No states have yet certified their election results,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said Monday in a speech on the Senate floor. “I believe the president may have legal challenges underway in at least five states.”

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.