Sen. Lindsey Graham on Tuesday fist-bumped Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on the Senate floor as he joined Republican colleagues congratulating her despite President Trump’s refusal to concede the race.
Harris, a California Democratic senator, extended her fist — rather than the COVID-19 “chicken wing” elbow salutation preferred by current Vice President Mike Pence — as Graham (R-SC) approached her during a vote on a Federal Reserve nominee.
Graham, a recurrent Trump golfing partner who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, bumped fists with Harris as he passed. It’s unclear if they spoke to each other.
Journalists in the Senate chamber reported hearing many Republican senators congratulate Harris, despite Trump’s insistence that litigation and recounts will earn him a second term.
“Congratulations,” Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma told Harris, according to CNN congressional reporter Ali Zaslav.
Journalists reported hearing Republican Sens. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Ben Sasse of Nebraska also congratulate Harris. Many other Republican senators have declined to say if Biden defeated Trump.
If current vote counts hold, Biden will defeat Trump with 306 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232 — the same margin as Trump’s 2016 upset over Hillary Clinton.
“I won the Election!” Trump tweeted on Monday. But a raft of lawsuits and recount efforts have not meaningfully altered vote counts in swing states that broke for Biden, including Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania.