WASHINGTON, July 30-- Bipartisan lawmakers pushed back at U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday after he raised the possibility of delaying the election in November. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell threw cold water on the idea directly. "Never in the history of the country, through wars, depressions and the Civil War, have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time," McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, told a local TV station in response. "We'll find a way to do that again this Nov. 3," he said. "We'll cope with whatever the situation is and have the election on Nov. 3 as already scheduled." In a tweet on Thursday morning, Trump claimed that 2020, with mail-in voting, will be "the most inaccurate & fraudulent election in history." "It will be a great embarrassment to the USA," he continued. "Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???" Legal experts have made clear that Trump has no authority to delay the presidential election as the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to set the date. "Trump's tweet is wrong and dangerous," said Elie Honig, a cnn legal analyst and former federal and state prosecutor. "The President has no legal power to delay the election. The Constitution gives the power to set election date to *Congress,* which has done so through legislation," Honig tweeted. "Only Congress -- majority votes of both Senate and House -- can change it." |