NRSC Chairman: Minnesota Law and Senate Rules Must Be Respected
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), made the following statement today in response to reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) may seek to disregard Minnesota law, as well as circumvent the rules of the U.S. Senate, and attempt to seat Democrat Al Franken as the junior Senator from Minnesota on Tuesday.
“The rules of the U.S. Senate state very clearly that any new Senator must present a certificate of election or appointment signed by both his/her home state Governor and Secretary of State. In fact, this is the very rule Senator Reid’s office has publicly cited in refusing to seat Mr. Burris from Illinois.
“Further, the laws of the State of Minnesota state that no certificate can be awarded until all legal challenges are resolved, which is far from the case currently in the Minnesota Senate race. It’s clear that numerous Minnesotans have been wrongly disenfranchised by a flawed recount process and the Coleman campaign has every right to contest the Canvassing Board’s decision, as they should.
“So if Senator Reid seeks to seat Al Franken without a certificate of election, he will be telling the people of Minnesota, and all Americans for that matter, that rules and laws can be ignored whenever he sees fit or whenever it’s politically convenient for Senate Democrats. This would send a terrible signal to all Americans who are rightfully expecting this new Congress to work together in a bipartisan manner.
“I sincerely hope that Senator Reid does not go down this path. I hope that he adheres to the Senate’s rules and allows the people of Minnesota to decide this Senate race. Minnesota voter’s choices and Minnesota’s laws must be respected.
“If Senator Reid chooses to ignore both, then I expect Republicans will stand in the way of his desire to play kingmaker in deciding the next Senator from Minnesota.”
