Conservative Utah Sen. Mike Lee — who like President Donald Trump had not recognized Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election — relented, sort of, after the Electoral College formally voted Monday.
Still, Lee added, “Concerns regarding fraud and irregularities in this election remain active in multiple states, and those concerns need to be addressed by Congress and state and local officials throughout the country.”
Rep. Chris Stewart also acknowledged Biden as the winner Tuesday in a tweet, saying, “I look forward to working with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris for the common good of the American people.”
Just before that, Stewart tweeted praised for Trump and what he said are his historic accomplishments.
Republican Utah Rep. Rob Bishop and Rep.-elect Burgess Owens have yet to make clear statements recognizing or congratulating Biden as president-elect. They did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment Tuesday.
“We want to make sure this is not stolen from us,” Owens said. “Too many millions of Americans believe it is at this point. I’m proud of the president who fights to the very, very end.”
Romney said on national television Tuesday that Biden may have a difficult time convincing many Republicans that he actually won because of continuing falsehoods Trump is spreading. A new CBS poll shows that 82% of Republicans nationally do not believe Biden is the legitimate winner.
“I think it’s a very difficult position that President-elect Biden is going to be in as a result of President Trump’s efforts to try to overturn the will of the people,” Romney said on CBS This Morning.
“But now you’ve had every court say that President Trump does not have a case. You have the Electoral College that has voted and it is very clear that President-elect Biden will become our next president,” he said. “It’s time to move on.”
Romney added that he believes Biden will find a way to unify the nation.
“Hopefully he’ll choose an agenda which will bring the American people together, not just rhetoric, but an agenda which is not divisive,” he said.
Romney said he is willing and excited to work with Biden.
“I’m looking forward to working with him,” Romney said. “I’m on the opposite side of the aisle. We’re not going to agree on every policy proposal he’ll make, but I’m certainly going to treat him and his administration with respect.”
“There are lots of things we could do. There are plenty of areas where the parties are at odds with each other, and plenty of areas where they are not,” Lee said.
For example, he said he believes bipartisan support exists to increase the child tax credit and “thereby decrease what I call the parent tax penalty,” Lee said. Passing such things could help the middle class and help build confidence on both sides.
Lee also said, “We would do a lot better and we’d have a lot more bipartisanship” if Congress addressed more single, narrowly focused issues separately instead of lumping them together in huge omnibus bills.
“That would allow us to realize there is a lot that can be done if we don’t tie everything to everything else,” he said.
Rep.-elect Moore, who is replacing Bishop, also issued a statement on Tuesday pledging to work with Biden.
“I will continue to create productive relationships with congressional members and a new administration to fight for the needs of Utah,” he said.
Reporter Bryan Schott contributed to this article.
