GOP senator admits trying to overturn Biden win was effort to 'disenfranchise' voters

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) admitted on Tuesday that voting against certifying President Joe Biden’s election win, as many Republicans did, was an attempt to “disenfranchise” millions of voters.

147 Republicans — 8 in the Senate and 139 in the House — voted against certifying the election results. Those votes against certifying came even after a mob of pro-Trump rioters attacked the Capitol, leaving five people dead.

Johnson’s characterization of the vote came during a discussion of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial on the syndicated “Joe Pags Show.”

“Three weeks ago, we collectively, we decided it would not be wise for Congress to usurp the authority of voters, disenfranchise them,” Johnson said, referring to the certification vote.

Johnson voted with the majority that certified the election results, ratifying the decision of over 155 million votes altogether across all candidates.

From the Jan. 26 edition of Compass Media Networks’ “The Joe Pags Show”:

JOE PAGS, host: Why are you so afraid, if you’re on the left in Washington, of Donald Trump ever running again? If he sucked as a president, and he doesn’t have support of 80 million Americans allegedly, then why worry about him running again? Leave the guy alone, he’s private citizen Trump.

 

RON JOHNSON: Well three weeks ago, we collectively, we decided it would not be wise for Congress to usurp the authority of voters, disenfranchise them —

 

PAGS: Yeah.

 

JOHNSON: — basically disallow the state electors — we didn’t think we really had the authority to do that.

 

PAGS: Right.

 

JOHNSON: Why would we now three weeks later say that we should preemptively overrule the voters? Or states and their electors? Why would we do that?

 

We shouldn’t be doing that, that’s why its such a dangerous precedent.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.