Trump wants to take control of the elections. Republicans extinguish the idea

The leaders of the Republican Party in Congress, Mike Johnson and John Thune, rejected on Tuesday President Donald Trump's call for federal authorities to “take over” the organization of elections in 15 states where alleged voter fraud took place, in violation of the constitution.

– I am not in favor of federalization of elections. I think it's a constitutional matter – Senate Republican leader John Thune said on Tuesday during a conversation with journalists.

The constitution over the president's demands

This was a comment on Monday's statement by the US president, who said in an interview with former deputy head of the FBI Dan Bongino that Republicans should “take over” and “nationalize” election administration in at least 15 Democratic-led states. Trump claimed that immigrants were voting illegally in these states and claimed that if his party did not do so, it would have no chance of winning.

According to Article I of the US Constitution, state authorities are responsible for how elections to Congress are organizedalthough Congress has the right to introduce limited regulations regarding this. Trump's call was also dismissed on Tuesday by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who claimed that the president was “merely expressing frustration about the problems that exist” in Democratic-led states.

The White House explains: This is about the SAVE Act

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also partially withdrew from Trump's demand. As she told reporters on Tuesday, the president was not calling for the federal government to take over administration of the elections, but talked about the SAVE Act billwhich would introduce the obligation to show proof of US citizenship when registering for elections and to present an ID card before voting.

Critics of the project believe that introducing this requirement would make it much more difficult to participate in elections or make postal voting impossible. More than half of eligible voters do not have valid passports.

FBI raid on Georgia facility

Trump's words came after the FBI last week raided a voting center in Fulton County, Georgia, and confiscated millions of ballots as part of an investigation into the 2020 election, which the president said was fraudulent.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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