GOP seizes control of Pa. Senate floor, blocks Brewster from being seated

The Pennsylvania Senate devolved into chaos Tuesday as Republicans, the majority party, refused to seat Democrat Jim Brewster of McKeesport to his third term in office.

The state certified Brewster as the winner of the Nov. 3 election in the 45th District, which includes parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. His victory was set aside by Republican senators who claimed a pending federal lawsuit by GOP challenger Nicole Ziccarelli was reason to delay his seating.

According to the state’s certified results, Brewster defeated Ziccarelli by 69 votes.

“The election is over, and I won the election,” Brewster told the Tribune-Review as he drove home from Harrisburg. “I have a hard time understanding why my opponent has a hard time grasping those facts. I guess they don’t know that the election is over when the person with the most votes wins.”

Brewster’s election was the linchpin that set off a series of disputes on the Senate floor that saw Republicans seize control of the proceeding and oust Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman from his role as president of the Senate. Republicans claimed Fetterman improperly refused to consider a GOP motion to exclude Brewster’s certification as winner.

Chaos and shouting in the Pennsylvania State Senate as the Republican majority refuses to swear in a Democratic senator and votes to remove Lt. Gov. @JohnFetterman (D-PA) from presiding over the session.

Watch the wild exchange: pic.twitter.com/WSNQe56yBK

— The Recount (@therecount) January 5, 2021

Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to halt the swearing-in of all 25 newly elected members.

Minority Whip Anthony Williams, a Philadelphia Democrat, at times screamed in voicing his displeasure with the proceedings.

“There is nothing about this day that is appropriate, nothing,” Williams said. “… This isn’t about Democrats or Republicans, it is about Pennsylvanians. … We will not participate in this farce.”

Through a motion from state Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, Senate Republicans voted to delay Brewster’s seating.

Ward could not be reached for comment.

Brewster appeared on the rostrum with nine other Democrats to be sworn into office, a move that prompted additional discord and prompted a Republican threat to deny the seating of the entire group of Democrats.

Brewster then stepped aside to allow the other Democrats to be sworn in, including Minority Leader Jay Costa of Forest Hills.

“That wasn’t planned,” Brewster said. “I wasn’t going to be part of making it a free-for-all, so I will live to fight this another day.”

Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, later issued a statement on the proceedings and Brewster not being seated.

“Republicans in Pennsylvania and nationally have spread disinformation and used it to subvert the democratic process. Sen. Jim Brewster rightfully won the 45th Senate District. … This is a shameful power grab that disgraces the institution,” Wolf said. “It is simply unethical and undemocratic to leave the district without a voice simply because the Republicans don’t like the outcome of the election. Voters, not Harrisburg politicians, decided this election, and Sen. Brewster is the rightful winner.

“All ballots were counted and certified, and the results are accurate. … There is no precedent, and no legal rationale, for failing to do so.

“I will do everything in my power to ensure that voters have the final say in elections.”

Ziccarelli has objected to the certified results, claiming Allegheny County’s Board of Elections illegally counted 311 mail-in ballots from voters who failed to write the date on the mailing envelope. Brewster netted 94 votes from those disputed ballots.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld Allegheny County’s decision to allow those ballots.

Westmoreland County’s election board rejected ballots with similar technical issues. The Ziccarelli campaign contends she would win by 25 votes if the disputed votes from Allegheny County are disallowed.

“Nicole won the election,” Ziccarelli’s attorney, Matt Haverstick, said in a statement Tuesday. “We’re very pleased that the Senate will follow the rule of law, hear her petition and, I believe, agree that she’s the winner.”

Haverstick said Fetterman’s refusal to consider a motion was improper and warranted his removal.

“He deserves to be removed if he won’t fulfill his constitutional obligations and is so nakedly partisan,” Haverstick said.

Fetterman could not be reached for comment.

Joe DiSarro, a political science professor at Washington & Jefferson College, said he wasn’t surprised Republicans delayed seating Brewster because the lead is so slim and mail-in ballots responsible for his lead are in question.

“When you’re looking at a race which is so close, this is not a surprise that the Republicans would hold it up,” said DiSarro, who also is on the Republican State Committee.

But other experts say the refusal to seat Brewster, despite his election results being certified more than a week ago by the state, sends an alarming message to Americans and to future candidates.

“There’s no rule that says somebody has to concede, but people always concede because that’s how you get to keep having a democracy,” said Kristen Kanthak, an associate professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh. “That’s what’s troublesome and worrisome to me. This isn’t just partisan arguing.”

Beyond the election results, Kanthak explained that the departure from established procedure in the Senate chambers Tuesday sets a dangerous precedent — one that disregards order and the established rules of the democratic process.

“The Pennsylvania Constitution is very clear that the lieutenant governor is the presiding officer of the Senate,” she said. “That’s the crux of this issue.”

As lieutenant governor, Fetterman is responsible for presiding over the Senate, and he has the authority to use the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms to physically maintain order — though he did not do so Tuesday. Even if the lieutenant governor does something wrong that warrants his removal, Kanthak said, there are rules for how the Senate majority can handle the situation. Namely, they could theoretically sue him, after the fact.

“This is a really big deal,” Kanthak said. “The idea that people are just going to follow the rules or the state will punish them is central to having a democracy. We don’t have that in the Pennsylvania Senate right now.”