GOP campaign chief John Cornyn (R-Texas) vowed Friday that Republicans would block any attempt by Democrats to seat Al Franken when the Senate gavels into order next week. Cornyn threatens filibuster over Franken

GOP campaign chief John Cornyn (R-Texas) vowed Friday that Republicans would block any attempt by Democrats to seat Al Franken when the Senate gavels into order next week.

Franken is leading Republican incumbent Norm Coleman by a slim 49-vote margin, but more than 1,000 votes have yet to be counted and legal challenges remain.


In a conference call with reporters today, Cornyn, the newly selected head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee said: “I think it’s very clear that the people of Minnesota and the courts of Minnesota” should choose between Franken and Coleman, “and not politicians in Washington, D.C.”

“It is the height of arrogance for any leader in Washington, D.C. to tell Minnesota voters whose votes should count and whose votes shouldn’t count,” Cornyn added.

The Texas senator was responding to comments made by Minnesota’s Democratic junior senator, Amy Klobuchar, suggesting Franken should be seated in the upper chamber if he is certified as the winner by the State Canvassing Board. The Board is scheduled to meet Saturday to count at least 1,350 absentee ballots.

"If the Canvassing Board declares a winner, that should be our senator," Klobuchar said last week. Even if a court challenge were to follow, Klobuchar said, "[The Senate] could seat a senator pending the litigation."

But Cornyn said Republicans were prepared to filibuster any attempt to seat Franken.

“There will be no scenario in which Republicans agree” to seat Franken without the complete resolution of legal cases surrounding the election and a certification from the state’s Democratic secretary of state and Republican governor, Cornyn said.

As the recount drags on, legal obstacles await. On Wednesday, Coleman filed a lawsuit alleging that election officials had not adopted uniform vote counting standards across the state. And Cornyn was quick to note that any Minnesota citizens have the right to file legal challenges of their own in the days ahead.

“I really think we need to be patient and allow the process to work its way through,” Cornyn said.