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Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Republican lawmakers from Michigan said they've not seen any evidence that would change the outcome of the state's election hours after they met with President Donald Trump at the White House. State Senate Republican leader Mike Shirkey and state House Speaker Lee Chatfield said they used the meeting to ask Trump for more funds to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
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They were part of a team of representatives met with Trump for 2 hours Friday, purportedly for a routine meeting, according to White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
A Michigan Republican leader told NBC News that Shirkey and Chatfield expected Trump to pressure them to intervene in the election in his favor.
"This is not an advocacy meeting," McEnany said Friday. "There will be no one from the campaign there. [The president] routinely meets with lawmakers from across the country."
After the meeting, Shirkey and Chatfield issued a statement clarifying that they spoke with Trump about the COVID-19 funding. But they also addressed Trump's challenge to the state's elections process.
They said they have faith in congressional committee reviews of the election.
"We have not yet been made aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election in Michigan and as legislative leaders, we will follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan's electors, just as we have said throughout this election," the statement said.
"Michigan's certification process should be a deliberate process free from threats and intimidation. Allegations of fraudulent behavior should be taken seriously, thoroughly investigated, and if prove, prosecuted to the full extend of the law."
Early Saturday, Trump repeated his unfounded allegation of "massive fraud" in Michigan.
On Thursday, the Trump campaign dropped a lawsuit seeking to halt the certification of election results in Wayne County, which contains Detroit.
Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani announced the move after two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers signed affidavits stating they wanted to rescind their votes to certify the results.
"This morning we are withdrawing our lawsuit in Michigan as a direct result of achieving the relief we sought: to stop the election in Wayne County from being prematurely certified before residents can be assured that every legal vote has been counted and every illegal vote has not been counted," Giuliani said in a statement.
Canvassing board members Monica Palmer and William Hartmann initially voted not to certify Wayne County's results, voicing concerns about unproven "irregularities," and deadlocked the board vote in a 2-2 tie.
After widespread criticism that they were attempting to disenfranchise the county's Black voters, Hartmann and Palmer switched their votes to confirm the results. They later signed affidavits saying those votes were made under pressure and sought to rescind them.
Palmer told NBC News that President Donald Trump called her and Hartmann the day before they sought to rescind their votes, but that didn't influence their request.
