WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A conservative anti-Trump group handed out failing grades to 136 Republicans in Congress on Monday as part of an effort to track allegiance to former President Donald Trump and support for democracy in the Senate and House of Representatives.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and the chamber’s No. 2 Republican, Steve Scalise, were among those who received ‘F’ grades from the “GOP Democracy Report Card” for allegedly backing Trump’s efforts to undermine President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election and for opposing Trump’s impeachment following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
The Republican Accountability Project, a group led by two former Trump administration officials and leading conservatives, including William Kristol, also handed out failing grades to prominent Trump allies such as Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley.
“Our Capitol was attacked by a mob that believed that the 2020 election was being stolen. They were encouraged by the lies and actions of President Trump and many Republican members of Congress,” the group said in a statement.
“In the name of accountability, it’s vitally important we remember which Congressional Republicans stood with democracy and the Constitution, and which did not.”
Hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a bid to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election result. The attack left five people dead, including a police officer. Trump was impeached a week later on a charge of inciting insurrection, but avoided conviction by the Republican-led Senate.
The Report Card graded lawmakers according to whether they had voted against certifying the 2020 president election results, supported legal action to nullify state election results, cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election and opposed Trump’s impeachment in January.
“A” grades went to 16 Republicans, including those who backed Trump’s impeachment, such as Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and Senators Mitt Romney, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.
Representative Tom Rice, a 17th lawmaker who supported Trump’s impeachment, got a “B” for opposing the certification of election results.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Dan Grebler)
