“The Founders entrusted our elections primarily to the states – not to Congress,” said Cotton. “They entrusted the election of our president to the people, acting through the Electoral College – not Congress.”
Trump also launched a more general attack on Republicans who rejected the effort – a group that includes former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said it was “difficult to conceive of a more anti-democratic and anti-conservative act”.
“Surrender Caucus within the Republican Party will fall into infamy as weak and ineffective ‘guardians’ of our Nation, who were willing to accept the certification of fraudulent presidential figures!” the outgoing president tweeted.
The Arkansas Republican has been singled out as a future presidential candidate, and the challenge of the Electoral College has divided the Republican Party at a time when it tries to maintain control over the Senate majority.
Two Georgia Republicans, Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, hope to face Democratic opponents in the second round on Tuesday. Both lined up with the president, who is due to hold a demonstration on his behalf in Georgia on Monday. The president also recently asked Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Reffensperger, during a private call, to “find” enough votes to nullify Biden’s victory in the state. A recording of the call was later leaked to the media.
Trump actively encouraged the Electoral College challenge and shortly after his warning shot at Cotton, the president tweeted quotes from Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas.) And Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) – both support the effort.
Johnson defended the attempt to reverse Biden’s electoral victory, arguing that Republicans cannot ignore “legitimate concerns” about unfounded allegations of widespread electoral fraud by Trump and his allies.
“From my point of view, we simply cannot dismiss the concerns of tens of millions of Americans who are suspicious,” Johnson told Fox News on Monday. “What we are saying is that we are going to postpone the acceptance of voters in a given state until we actually investigate what the problems are in that particular state.