The GOP Electoral College objectors who skipped interview requests
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Most of the 12 Republican senators who said on Saturday they will object to certifying state Electoral College votes on Wednesday skipped invitations from news shows to appear on Sunday.
Driving the news: "State of the Union" anchor Jake Tapper said all 12 senators declined or failed to respond to an invitation to explain their objection to certification on CNN. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro also said the senators all declined invitations to appear on "Weekend Edition."
Only Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who appeared on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who had a testy exchange with host Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press," appeared on the shows.
- Cruz, who is leading the charge, conceded on Fox News that the Supreme Court would be a better forum to litigate the challenge, while calling on his Democratic colleagues to "just relax and let's do our jobs."
What he's saying: "I want to note that we invited each of the 12 senators involved in plotting this disgraceful effort to come on the show this morning to try to defend and explain their position," Tapper said. "Each of them declined or failed to respond."
- "It all recalls what Ulysses S. Grant once wrote in 1861: 'There are but two parties now, traitors and patriots.' How would you describe the parties today?"
The state of play: The group includes Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.), as well as newly sworn-in Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).
- The senators consider the coordinated effort to be separate from that of Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who was the first in the chamber to announce he would object to the vote.
Go deeper: Multiple senators oppose certifying election results
