Republican leaders reportedly block Inaugural Committee vote to acknowledge Biden's win

The presidential inaugural committee is reportedly refusing to acknowledge there will be a new president inaugurated next month.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies is made up of top leaders of both congressional bodies — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) — as well as Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). They kicked off preparations Tuesday by considering a resolution basically acknowledging President-elect Joe Biden's win, but the committee's three Republicans voted it down, Politico reports.

The inaugural committee is historically bipartisan, and has been planning inaugurations for president-elects of both parties for more than a century. But Republicans told Politico they felt like this resolution was a way for Democrats to force them into formally acknowledging Biden's win, and isn't necessary to begin planning the inauguration. Hoyer followed up by calling Republicans' blockade an "astounding" development in the GOP's refusal to acknowledge President Trump's loss. Kathryn Krawczyk

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