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Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a long-time supporter of President Trump, has broken with some of his GOP colleagues in the House and Senate, saying he will not challenge the Electoral College results when Congress meets for them. certify this week.
Cotton said the effort led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri in the Senate and Representative Mo Brooks in the House would set a “reckless precedent” and exceed their authority under the US Constitution.
“The founders entrusted our elections primarily to states and not to Congress. They handed over the election of our president to the people, acting through the Electoral College – not Congress. And they’ve turned electoral dispute resolution over to the courts – not Congress, ”Cotton said in a statement on Sunday.
“Under the Constitution and federal law, the power of Congress is limited to the counting of electoral votes submitted by states,” he continued. “If Congress were to claim to reverse the Electoral College’s results, it would not only exceed that power, but would also set reckless precedents.”
A joint session of Congress will meet on Wednesday to certify the results which gave President-elect Joe Biden 306 electoral votes against 232 for President Trump.
Challenging the Electoral College’s results to tip the election to Trump would strip the people of the power to elect the president and place that power in “the hands of the party that controls Congress,” Cotton of Arkansas said.
Due to concern about irregularities in the election resulting from “relaxed standards” for postal voting, Cotton said he would support the appointment of a congressional committee to review the election, like Cruz and his group. of Republicans have called for it, “to protect the integrity of our elections.” “
He said he was “grateful” for what Trump accomplished during his four years in the White House, but “opposing certified electoral votes will not give him a second term – it will only encourage Democrats who want to further erode our system of constitutional government. “
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