After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Hawley announced his intention to object to the Senate's certification of the Electoral College vote count on January 6, 2021. He was the first senator to do so. Trump had refused to concede and made frequent baseless claims of fraud in the election. Hawley said that his attempt to reverse the election result was on behalf of those "concerned about election integrity." He made numerous statements suggesting that Trump could possibly remain in office. "The New York Times" wrote that Hawley was elevating false claims of a stolen election. His maneuver prompted bipartisan condemnation of his action as undemocratic.