Rand Paul Rejects Trump's Call To 'Nationalize' Elections: 'Not What The Constitution Says'

Republican Senator Rand Paul rejected President Donald Trump's calls to nationalize elections. "That's not what the Constitution says," the lawmaker said in an interview with MS NOW.

"The Supreme Court did rule that, for example, Washington state can't set term limits on federal officials if Georgia doesn't. It has to be a uniform election law," Paul added. "But as far as the time, place and manner of elections, that, under the Constitution, is a state activity. I'm not for nationalizing it."

Elsewhere in the interview, Paul recalled that Democrats tried to implement national election reforms when former President Joe Biden was in office and Republicans blocked them, himself included in the effort.

"I was against Nancy Pelosi's bill, which would have nationalized it, but I would also be against any bill coming from this administration that would nationalize elections," Paul said.

The president sparked controversy with the call in an appearance in former Deputy FBI Dan Bongino's podcast, saying: "Republicans should say, 'We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least — many, 15 places.'"

"We have states that are so crooked, and they're counting votes — we have states that I won that show I didn't win. Now you're going see something in Georgia where they were able to get with a court order, the ballots, you're going to see some interesting things," he added, in reference to an FBI raid on Fulton County.

It is the latest escalation from Trump regarding election administration even though Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution states that "the times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof" even though Congress can pass federal regulation.

NBC News explained that the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the wording article to mean that states have control over voter-related processes, including voter registration, supervision, among others.

Federal courts have prevented Trump from shaping election rules. They have prevented the administration from implementing parts of an executive order with major election changes, including the need to prove citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.

However, some have supported the initiative. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon said ICE "will surround the polls" in the midterm elections. "We're not going to sit here and allow to steal the country again. You can whine and cry and throw your toys out all you want but We'll never again allow an election to be stolen," he said.

• Hakeem Jeffries Takes Aim At Trump Over Call To Nationalize Election: 'Get Lost'
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