The Republican leaders of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives announced late Saturday that they will not be returning to session this year, a move that would appear to preclude any possibility of lawmakers interceding in the 2020 election.
House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Quarryville, and Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, released a joint statement saying that they would not be calling their chamber to Harrisburg on Monday, the final possible day for the 2019-20 session of the Legislature to meet.
Given that the House won't meet before the Electoral College gathers to pick the next president Dec. 14, President Donald Trump's hopes that state lawmakers in Pennsylvania would step in and choose electors appear to be dashed.
Trump and his allies have alleged that presumed President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the Nov. 3 election was the result of widespread fraud, including in Pennsylvania.
Trump's assertions found a receptive audience among several dozen conservative Pennsylvania lawmakers, including state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who called for a Nov. 25 meeting of the Republican-controlled Senate Majority Policy Committee in his district to hear allegations that Pennsylvania's vote count was hopelessly compromised.
With the legislative window apparently closed, Trump's sole remaining path to claiming Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes is likely via the federal courts.
The other major lawsuit that could conceivably lead to a Trump victory in the Keystone State, brought by U.S. Rep. Michael Kelly, congressional candidate Sean Parnell and others, was dismissed Saturday by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Pennsylvania House GOP leaders: Lawmakers won't meet again this year
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