Sen. Tom Cotton Bucks Donald Trump, Says He Will Not Support GOP Effort To Overturn Election Results
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said Sunday that he will not join his fellow Republicans in opposing the certification of Electoral College votes on January 6.
In a statement available in full on cotton.senate.gov, the senator explained that he shares the “concerns” about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election and noted that he would support the creation of an independent commission to study the alleged irregularities that took place in November.
Cotton argued that the Senate should hold hearings on potential irregularities, writing that “all Americans deserve to have confidence in the elections that undergird our free government.”
Cotton noted that the states should run elections, according to the Constitution. The Founding Fathers, he added, entrusted the courts with resolving disputes, which is why the U.S. Congress should stay out of the process and simply certify the results, like it always has.
Cotton argued that allowing Congress to interfere in an election would set several dangerous precedents. It would empower the ruling party to override the people’s will, “imperil” the U.S. system and mark “another big step toward federalizing election law,” he wrote.
Cotton added that he cannot support the initiative to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential race because it would harm the GOP and help Democrats achieve their goals.
“Thus, I will not oppose the counting of certified electoral votes on January 6. I’m grateful for what the president accomplished over the past four years, which is why I campaigned vigorously for his reelection,” Cotton added.
“But objecting to certified electoral votes won’t give him a second term — it will only embolden those Democrats who want to erode further our system of constitutional government.”
Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential contest, but Donald Trump and his allies have rejected the results as illegitimate, promoting evidence-free theories about widespread fraud.
In refusing to endorse congressional meddling in the 2020 race, Cotton broke with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and a slew of his Republican colleagues.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, a group of House Republicans vowed to object to the results of the 2020 race. This week, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri became the first Republican in the Senate to endorse the effort and a dozen others soon joined him.
Prominent Republicans have expressed opposition to the idea.
Notably, as The Salt Lake Tribune reported, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah said that the initiative “dangerously threatens our Democratic Republic.”
“The congressional power to reject electors is reserved for the most extreme and unusual circumstances,” Romney stated.
