Backroom whispers about the futility of Trump’s legal fight have become louder after Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani appeared in a Pennsylvania courtroom making wide and unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in seeking to undo the election results. Asked about the case, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said, “Let me just say, I don’t think they have a strong case.”

And when White House chief of staff Mark Meadows visited with Senate Republicans, he encouraged them to “make the most” of their remaining time with Trump, according to two senators…

Republicans have said privately there’s not much they can do except wait, giving the president the time and space he needs to see the results for himself. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, perceived by some Republicans as the one man who could urge Trump to cooperate with the Biden transition, has instead steadfastly backed the president, saying he’s “100% within his rights” to legally contest the results…

“Trump is behaving exactly as everyone should have expected he would do. Nothing he has done in the last two weeks is out of character,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who advised Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential bid. “And Senate Republicans are responding to him the same way they always do: Ignore him and focus on the Senate calendar.”