Washington, D.C. – Freshman Republican 4th District Congressman Randy Feenstra joined the other five members of the Iowa congressional delegation in rejecting attempts to delay confirmation of President-Elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win.
The House and Senate reconvened Wednesday evening after having their debate postponed when protestors stormed the Capitol building. One woman was killed by gunfire in the ensuing melee. Legislators ended their late night of work by voting to confirm former Vice-President Joe Biden as President-Elect. President Trump issued a statement after the congressional action in which he stated that there would be an “orderly transition of power on January 20th.”
Feenstra released the following statement regarding Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol and the pending vote to certify the Electoral College results:
“Today is a very sad day in our nation’s history. While every American has a First Amendment right to free speech, which includes the right to peacefully protest, violence is never the answer. A woman died during the events that unfolded. Our beautiful Capitol — a symbol of our Republic — was desecrated in front of the world.
“Frustrations over the results of the election are understandable, but resorting to violence and anarchy is completely unacceptable.
“When I was sworn into office on Sunday, with my hand on our family’s Bible, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Today, that is what I’ll do. The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution states, ‘The person having the greatest Number of [Electoral College] votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed.’ To date, no state has sent a new slate of electors — even though they have the constitutional power to do so. Therefore, the results of the Electoral College will stand.
“I will always be a strong advocate and supporter of efforts to uphold the security and trust Americans have in our election system, such as implementing strict voter ID laws like we have here in Iowa. That is why I signed on to a letter with my freshman colleagues urging House leadership to take action and support the integrity of our election process.
“Free, fair, and legal elections are the cornerstone of our Republic, and even one case of fraud is one case too many. Congress must immediately hold hearings on election integrity so Iowans and all Americans can once again have faith in our elections.
“America can, and must, be better than what we witnessed today. I pray that she will be.”
