Tenney Joins Bicameral Effort to Oppose Speaker Pelosi's Attempt to Overturn the State-Certified Election Results in Iowa's 2nd District
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) has joined 124 of her House and Senate colleagues in sending Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letterregarding House Democrats' attempts to overturn Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks state-certified election. Congresswoman Tenney has made the issues of election integrity and security key priorities in Congress after the 2020 election in New York’s 22nd Congressional District, which exposed several concerning errors.
Speaker Pelosi's efforts to overturn the election results in Iowa's 2nd District are being led by Marc Elias, the same Democratic political operative who sought unsuccessfully to overturn the election results in New York's 22nd District.
"Marc Elias and Speaker Pelosi are teaming up to unseat a duly elected Member of Congress in an unprecedented power grab," said Congresswoman Claudia Tenney. "House Democrats are arguing that the Committee on House Administration can rewrite Iowa's state election laws because they didn't like the outcome of the election. This isn't just partisan, it is an abuse of power that strikes at the heart of our constitutional republic.
"This case shows exactly what is at stake if H.R. 1 becomes law," Congresswoman Tenney continued. "Democratic operatives are going to use this bill to deprive states of their constitutionally protected right to administer free and fair elections. If H.R. 1 is the law of the land, politicians in Washington will start to challenge the outcome of any election they're not happy with. At a time when Congress needs to be restoring faith in the fairness of our elections, House Democrats are playing politics with one of our most sacred rights as Americans."
Full text of the letter signed by 124 Members of Congress:
Dear Speaker Pelosi:
We write to express our outrage at the activities you have undertaken as Speaker in the matter of Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks as Representative of Iowa’s Second Congressional District. Iowans made their choice known at the ballot box and Congresswoman Miller-Meeks was elected fairly; the votes have been counted, recounted, and certified in a bipartisan manner. She has taken the Oath of Office and is already serving her constituents. We stand firmly with the American people of Iowa’s Second Congressional District – whose right and will it is for her to serve as their elected Representative in Congress.
Furthermore, we are astounded by your hypocrisy as the Speaker to support an investigation into this free and fair election while simultaneously claiming voter fraud does not exist nationally. If election security concerns are unwarranted, as you claim, then there is certainly no reason for the Committee on House Administration to be moving forward with such an outrageous request to unseat the legitimately elected Congresswoman. Indeed, Iowa prides itself on having safe and secure elections, and the state itself has not indicated in any way that it has questions about its November 2020 election. Were the state to have concerns even after the extensive recounts, it is more than capable of evaluating the election it conducted.
As it stands, Congresswoman Miller-Meeks’s failed opponent not only lost; she lost in such a clean race that the Hart Campaign did not even attempt to seek the legal remedy in the judicial system, as provided under Iowa law. This failure to follow through with the statutorily provided process to have any claims evaluated before an independent panel of judges underscores that the Hart Campaign does not have a case to make. If this were truly about who won the election, the courts would be involved – the courts have been thrust aside, not even consulted. This matter should be left to independent judges, not partisan politicians. This is not about what the American people want; this is about what you want.
The fact that you are willing to overturn an election for your own political expediency is astonishing, disheartening, and sickening. Additionally, you, Madam Speaker, sent a letter to Congresswoman Miller-Meeks on January 3, 2021, congratulating her on her “election as a Member of the 117th Congress.” In addition to being profoundly hypocritical, this is morally reprehensible. There is no cause to question the voters of Iowa; there is no legitimate reason to open an investigation into a certified election outcome you do not like.
As Members of Congress, we swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. In your letter to Congresswoman Miller-Meeks, you remind her “of the great and humbling responsibility it is to serve our constituents as Members of the House of Representatives.” We expect the same from the Speaker – to serve. We call on you to stop this power grab and respect Iowans’ decision to elect Congresswoman Miller-Meeks.
A signed copy of the letter can be found here.