Republicans Divided on Electoral Count Act: McConnell, Yes; Cruz, No

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday threw his support behind the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022, which is intended to “reform and modernize” an “outdated” 1887 law guiding the congressional tally of each state’s electoral votes.

The Senate Rules Committee advanced the bill on Tuesday following months of bipartisan discussions; the House has already passed its version of the bill.

“I will proudly support the legislation, provided that nothing more than technical changes are made to its current form,” McConnell announced on Tuesday. “I want to thank Senator Collins and Senators Capito, Murkowski, Portman, Romney, Sasse, Tillis, and Young for their intense work with Democratic colleagues to get this right.”

But Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called it a “bad bill” and “bad policy.”