Ted Cruz says Senate will likely blockade Biden's nominations based on debunked election fraud allegations

Some Republican senators are using their unfounded election fraud claims as an excuse to muddy President-elect Joe Biden's transition.

Biden has spent the past few weeks since the election filling out his Cabinet, hoping quick confirmations will help him get a quick start on reversing President Trump's policies. But "as long as there's litigation ongoing, and the election result is disputed, I do not think you will see the Senate act to confirm any nominee," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told Axios.

The Senate typically starts hearing from an incoming president's Cabinet nominees before Inauguration Day, allowing them to more quickly be confirmed and start work as soon as a new president is sworn in and can formally nominate them. That's especially essential during a pandemic — something retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) noted to Axios on Friday.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

But much of the Republican Senate and House have yet to acknowledge Biden's win. More than 100 of those congressmembers joined Texas' lawsuit Thursday aimed at overturning the election results in four states that went for Biden. The lawsuit alleges Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin improperly changed voting rules in the 2020 election, but is unlikely to succeed in the Supreme Court, not least because several states included on the suit made similar changes by the same means.

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) meanwhile wants a chance to challenge Biden's nominees on their credentials, particularly his controversial Defense Secretary pick retired Gen. Lloyd Austin.