Politics

Trump pressures Republicans to block Biden’s win

Published

5 years ago

January 4, 2021

Donald Trump has called out Republicans who plan to support certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the US election as members of a “surrender caucus”, deepening the intraparty split over the looming transfer of power in Washington.

The US President, in a series of tweets on Monday morning, pressured lawmakers from his own party to join his attempt to overturn the results of the November election, less than three weeks before Biden’s inauguration as president.

Trump, according to Financial Times, is facing a backlash from across the political spectrum over a call he made during the weekend to Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, urging him to “find” extra votes to reverse Mr Biden’s win in the southern state.

A joint session of Congress is expected on Wednesday to certify Biden’s electoral college victory.

Twelve Republican senators, led by Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, have said they will object to Biden’s win based on unfounded allegations of voter fraud, although many Republicans are expected to accept the election result — triggering Trump’s wrath.

“The ‘Surrender Caucus’ within the Republican party will go down in infamy as weak and ineffective ‘guardians’ of our Nation, who were willing to accept the certification of fraudulent presidential numbers!” Trump wrote.

Earlier in the day, Trump had singled out Tom Cotton — a reliable ally of the president on Capitol Hill — for criticism after the senator from Arkansas said he would not join other Republican objectors to Biden’s win.

“@SenTomCotton Republicans have pluses & minuses, but one thing is sure, THEY NEVER FORGET!”, the president wrote.

In a statement on Monday, Rob Portman, the Republican senator from Ohio, defied Trump’s wishes and said he would not object to Biden’s certification.

“The Constitution created a system for electing the President through the Electoral College that ensures the people and the states hold the power, not Congress. I cannot support allowing Congress to thwart the will of the voters,” he said.

Trump’s increasingly frantic efforts to avoid leaving the White House on January 20 have created a febrile atmosphere in Washington and stoked new fears over the prospects for a smooth transition on inauguration day.

They have also prompted warnings from business that some Republicans were threatening democracy by attempting to oppose certifying the presidential election results.

“Efforts by some members of Congress to disregard certified election results . . . undermines our democracy and the rule of law and will only result in further division,” said Tom Donohue, chief executive of the US Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby.

Almost 200 business leaders signed a separate statement from the Partnership for New York City, warning that attempts to thwart certification of the results “run counter to the essential tenets of our democracy” and would distract from responding to the country’s health and economic crises.

Democrats said they were disturbed by Mr Trump’s approach. At a rally ahead of two pivotal Senate run-off races in Georgia on Tuesday, Kamala Harris, the incoming vice-president, attacked Trump for his call to Raffensperger.

“It was certainly the voice of desperation, most certainly that. And it was a bald, bald-faced, bold abuse of power by the president of the United States,” she said on Sunday night.

Ted Lieu, a Democratic lawmaker from California, and Kathleen Rice, a Democratic lawmaker from New York, on Monday asked the FBI to open a criminal investigation into Trump’s call for “solicitation of, or conspiracy to commit, a number of election crimes”.

Nevertheless, Mr Trump’s most loyal backers on Capitol Hill have stuck by him. Marsha Blackburn, the Republican senator from Tennessee and one of the upper-chamber lawmakers intending to object to the certification of Biden’s victory, told Fox News on Monday that the president’s call to Raffensperger searching for votes was “not a helpful call”.

But she reaffirmed the plan to object to Biden’s victory and establish a commission to report back on fraud claims within 10 days.

“When there are allegations of fraud and when there’s all this conversation that is taking place around the election results, one of the things that we should do is define the problem and then offer an action item that will get us to a solution,” she said. “And that’s exactly what we are doing.”

Politics

ADC Leadership Crisis Deepens as Rival Faction Protests at INEC Headquarters

Published

8 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Trends Admin

ADC Leadership Crisis Deepens as Rival Faction Protests at INEC Headquarters

A fresh wave of internal crisis has hit the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a rival faction of the party, led by Nafiu Bala Gombe, staged a protest on Thursday at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.

The demonstrators, who gathered in significant numbers, called on a separate faction reportedly aligned with prominent political figures—including David Mark, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso—to desist from interfering in the party’s internal affairs.

Leading the protest, Nafiu Bala Gombe insisted that the integrity and independence of the ADC must be preserved, warning against what he described as external influence and imposition of leadership within the party structure.

ADC Leadership Crisis Deepens as Rival Faction Protests at INEC Headquarters

Politics

Court Stops ADC Congress, Orders Status Quo in Leadership Row

Published

13 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Trends Admin

Court Stops ADC Congress, Orders Status Quo in Leadership Row

A High Court in Katsina State has issued an interim order restraining key members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) from parading themselves as officials of the party in the state and barred the conduct of any party congress pending the determination of a suit before the court.

The order followed an ex parte motion filed by Usman Wamba, who claims to be the legitimate Katsina State Chairman of the ADC. Wamba approached the court to challenge what he described as attempts by rival party members to usurp his position and authority.

In a ruling delivered by Justice A. K. Tukur on April 7, 2026, the court restrained Lawan Batagarawa and Babangida Ibrahim Mahuta from presenting themselves as leaders or stakeholders of the ADC Katsina chapter. They were also prohibited from conducting any party activities or organising congresses until the motion on notice is fully heard and determined.

Politics

#OccupyINEC: ADC Protests in Abuja, Demands INEC Chairman’s Resignation

Published

13 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Trends Admin

#OccupyINEC: ADC Protests in Abuja, Demands INEC Chairman’s Resignation

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) led a massive protest in Abuja on Tuesday under the hashtag #OccupyINEC, calling for the resignation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Professor Joseph Amupitan. The party accused INEC of partisanship, constitutional violations, and interference in internal party affairs, actions it says threaten Nigeria’s democratic process.

ADC Protests in Abuja

The demonstration began at the Maitama Roundabout and drew a host of prominent political figures, including former Senate President David Mark, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, and ex-Kogi West Senator Dino Melaye. Their presence highlighted the seriousness of the protest and amplified public attention.

ADC leaders accused the INEC Chairman of overstepping his constitutional authority, especially in matters related to court rulings and party leadership disputes. According to the party, INEC’s actions — including publicly interpreting court judgments — encroach on the judiciary’s exclusive powers and undermine the credibility of the electoral system.