Third-ranking Senate Democrat calls on Hawley, Cruz to resign after Capitol attack

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the third-ranking member of the Senate Democratic leadership, on Friday called on Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to resign after they supported objections to the Electoral College votes of Arizona and Pennsylvania for President-elect Joe Biden. 

Murray accused her colleagues of undermining the democratic process and supporting “the power of force over the power of democracy” by attempting to throw out electoral votes for Biden after state officials and courts found there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in either state. 

“At the end of the day, our job is to keep this country a democracy where voices win, not brute force. Any senator who stands up and supports the power of force over the power of democracy has broken their oath of office. Senators Hawley and Cruz should resign,” Murray said in a statement. 

“There can be no normalizing or looking away from what played out before our eyes this week,” Murray continued. 

She said the “violent mob” that attacked the Capitol was made up of people “who don’t accept democracy and want to take this country by use of force.”

“This is not how we keep our people and our country free,” she concluded. 

Hawley in a statement provided to The Hill said he did nothing wrong.

“I will never apologize for giving voice to the millions of Missourians and Americans who have concerns about the integrity of our elections. That’s my job and I will keep doing it,” he said.

A spokesperson for Cruz ripped Murray for making a “hypocritical” and “dishonest” statement.

“Sen. Murray’s rhetoric is hypocritical, dishonest and dangerous,” said the Cruz aide. “Sen. Cruz immediately condemned this terrorist attack and called for anyone who stormed the Capitol to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Sen. Cruz always condemned political violence of all kinds, unlike Sen. Murray, who this summer defended what she called a ‘vital’ and ‘legitimate’ insurrection in her home state that resulted in four shootings, two deaths, multiple alleged sexual assaults, mass looting and arson,” the spokesperson added, referring to the occupation of downtown Seattle by protesters in the summer.

Murray’s comments came after a violent mob of President Trump’s supporters attacked the Capitol while Congress was in the process of certifying the Electoral College results. The rioters breached Capitol security and made their way toward both chambers of Congress, forcing lawmakers, staff and press to evacuate and take cover in undisclosed locations. 

Hawley and Cruz have also come under criticism from fellow Republicans.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who is a potential rival of the senators for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, on Thursday accused his colleagues of misleading supporters about the chances of overturning the results of the Nov. 3 election in Congress.

“Some senators, for political gain, misled supporters about their ability to challenge the election results — some even sent out fundraising emails while insurrectionists stormed the Capitol. That stops now — Republicans ought to focus on countering the Democrats’ radical agenda,” Cotton tweeted on Thursday morning. 

Cotton appeared to be referring to Hawley, whose campaign sent out a fundraising email Wednesday promoting his plan to object to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes. 

The email was sent shortly before the crowd stormed the U.S. Capitol resulting in a melee that left at least one protester and one Capitol police officer dead.

Later on Thursday, Simon & Schuster announced it had decided to cancel the publication of Hawley’s book, “The Tyranny of Big Tech.”

“We take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom,” the publisher said.

Hawley accused Simon & Schuster of censoring him because of political pressure from the left.

“Simon & Schuster is canceling my contract because I was representing my constituents, leading a debate on the Senate floor on voter integrity, which they have not decided to redefine as sedition,” he said in a statement.

“Let me be clear, this is not just a contract dispute. It’s a direct assault on the First Amendment. Only approved speech can now be published,” he added. “This is the Left looking to cancel everyone they don’t approve of.”

Updated 4:35 p.m.