GOP Sen. Jim Inhofe: Objecting to Election Certification ‘a Violation of My Oath of Office’

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks to reporters follow
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Hannah Knudsen

Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) said on Tuesday that he will not join the dozen-plus GOP senators who plan to object to the electors in disputed states on January 6, contending that such would “be a violation of my oath of office.”

In the Tuesday statement, the Oklahoma Republican said that he took an oath to “support and defend” the Constitution and to “bear true faith and allegiance to the same,” explaining that he has no intention to violate his oath, nor has he in his over three decades in federal office.

The certification and recounts in presidential elections, he continued, is “explicitly delegated to the states in Article II, Section I” and “any questions about the electoral process or validity of results may only be constitutionally adjudicated in the courts.”

“My job on Wednesday is clear, and there are only two things I am permitted to do under the Constitution: ensure the electors are properly certified and count the electoral votes, even when I disagree with the outcome,” he continued, contending that challenging a state’s certification would “be a violation of my oath of office—that is not something I am willing to do and is not something Oklahomans would want me to do.”

He continued:

I hear the frustration and anger from so many of my constituents – and believe me when I say that no one was more disappointed in the outcome of the presidential election on November 3 than me. I wanted President Trump to win. I supported him every step of the way – highlighting regularly all he has accomplished in the past four years and authoring the Trump Top 10 card. I understand so many have uncertainty and are questioning of the integrity of our elections. We have a lot of work to do to restore all Americans’ confidence that our elections are held freely and fairly, with every legal vote counted—and are starting that work now.

Over a dozen GOP senators have expressed their intent to object to the Electoral College vote in disputed states, including Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Kennedy (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and most recently, Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA).

“Elections are the bedrock of our democracy and the American people deserve to be 100 percent confident in our election systems and its outcomes,” she said in a Monday statement ahead of the January 5 runoff against her Democrat challenger Raphael Warnock.

“The American people deserve a platform in Congress, permitted under the Constitution, to have election issues presented so that they can be addressed,” the Georgia Republican said.

“That’s why, on January 6th, I will vote to give President Trump and the American people the fair hearing they deserve and support the objection to the Electoral College certification process,” she added.

At least 140 House Republicans are expected to object to the Electoral College votes on Wednesday, January 6, as well.

Republican Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) is among the latest to join his GOP colleagues, announcing on Tuesday that he, too, will “object to some of the electors because several states faced significant constitutional issues regarding officials or state courts changing elections rules set by state legislatures just months before the actual elections.”

Waltz stressed that he will be “following a law that’s been in place for 130 years” and emphasized that his decision is “NOT sedition, treason, or cowardice or other character attacks many in the media have launched.”

“In America we are working through our disputes through courts and legislatures NOT violence and bloodshed like many countries where I’ve served,” he added:

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