On the recordJanuary 19, 2022
just 14 months ago, our Nation stood on the brink of a constitutional crisis as the former President and his followers attempted to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power and overturn the results of a free and fair election. Instead of accepting the will of the voters in upholding the foundations of our constitutional Republic, President Trump and his followers engaged in a campaign of blatant disinformation and political interference. They attempted to coerce State and local election officials to make false claims of widespread fraud and then use those claims to not certify election results and reject the will of the people--all to ensure that the former President could stay in power at any cost. My home State of Michigan was at the very center of this battle in 2020 when our State Board of Canvassers met to certify the undeniable fact that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had won the State of Michigan and its 16 electoral votes, but we came dangerously close to the kind of anti-democratic and authoritarian behavior that the United States has long decried in other nations. It basically came down to one vote--just one vote--from one Republican member of the Board of Canvassers--one canvasser who dared to withstand the intense political pressure for him to ignore the will of the people and to not certify those election results, one canvasser who chose to ignore blatant lies and disinformation.…





