Tipsheet

Schumer Refuses to Allow McCormick to Show Up for Orientation. Here's What GOP Senators Propose.

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  November 10, 2024 8:45 PM

It took several days for the race to be called, but Republican Dave McCormick has defeated Sen. Bob Casey for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race. Democrats like Casey, but also liberal attorney Marc Elias are still holding out on acknowledging the results. The Harris-Walz team is even fundraising off of such a race, though the votes still being counted come from a bright red county. One Democrat, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), is taking it a step further by refusing to allow McCormick to show up for freshman orientation.

As Fox News reported on Sunday afternoon, three days after several outlets called the race in favor of McCormick:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is not allowing Senator-elect Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania to attend Senate orientation in the coming week, pointing to outstanding ballots in the state, even though the race has already been called. 

Two sources with knowledge confirmed to Fox News Digital that McCormick was not invited to orientation, despite having been projected by the Associated Press to win the Pennsylvania Senate race. 

When reached by Fox News Digital, a Schumer spokesperson said in a statement, "With over 100,000 ballots left to be counted in Pennsylvania, the race has not been decided. As is custom, we will invite the winner once the votes are counted." 

...

Schumer's office shared with Fox News Digital that Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., has not been invited to orientation either. The Arizona Senate race is still ongoing and has not been called by the AP. 

A spokesperson for the majority leader also noted that Sen. Al Franken did not attend orientation in 2008 due to the close nature of his election. However, Franken's election was won by only a few hundred votes, while McCormick is leading by tens of thousands. 

McCormick's fellow Republicans have rushed to defend him over X, with Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) sharing some plans he has in mind. With Schumer not willing to allow McCormick to attend, Lee has offered to escort him. Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL) and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) have also signed on to such a plan as well. 

There's also the theme of Schumer engaging in election denialism, especially with the outstanding votes to be counted not being in Casey's favor, hence the race being called by numerous outlets.

Other notable responses come from Sen.-elect Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the latter who just won reelection by 8 points, despite Democrats thinking it was a race they had a chance with. Sheehy, who unseated vulnerable Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, put out a quoted repost of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), using particularly harsh language. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) noted such a move from Schumer "shows Schumer's true character."

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The senators looking to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as the Republican leader have also weighed in to express their outrage. 

Not only does Schumer look to be engaged in election denialism, but his "pettiness," to quote Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), also comes as he laughably tried to call for bipartisanship just days earlier after it became clear that Republicans had taken control of the Senate. Schumer is thus a lame duck majority leader. 

Such a call for bipartisanship came in a Wednesday evening thread over X.

The Fox News report also mentioned Sen.-elect Ruben Gallego, the Democrat who was declared the winner for the U.S. Senate race out of Arizona by Decision Desk HQ on Saturday night.

McCormick and Gallego are also getting support from retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who was elected as a Democrat and switched her affiliation in December 2022. She called for both McCormick and her successor, Gallego, to be able to attend.