Rep. Jim Clyburn recently defended federal involvement during elections and cited Alexander Hamilton while asserting that election loss “cannot remain up to the states.”
This week marked one year since the Jan. 6, Capitol Riot that took place on the day Congress was to certify President Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump. The post-election controversy was focused on Trump’s attempts to challenge election losses, especially in Georgia, where State Secretary Brad Raffensperger famously rejected the president’s attempt to find more votes.
This dispute brought back a long-standing disagreement over the role of federal officials during elections. Some believe that they should be completely under the control of state and local officials.
Clyburn, however, believes federal officials are aware of their actions and should be allowed to continue their role in elections like this.
Clyburn stated that although he is a federal official, he understands how federal elections work. He spoke on Fox News Sunday. “Most federal employees have served at some time at both the state and local level, so they also have an understanding. He agreed with Alexander Hamilton, saying that such elections were “not possible” and “shouldn’t be left to the states.” He explained that states could not place term limits on federal officials.
January 6th marked a significant anniversary for Senate Democrats, who have renewed their push to reform voting rights reforms. This included a change in the filibuster to allow them to pass the reforms.
Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called it a “jaw-dropping effort to break the Senate.” Clyburn stated that Congress must “mature” with the times and make necessary changes.
Clyburn stated that “what is true today wasn’t true yesterday” and that the type of changes we must make and the modifications we need to make must be in line with the times. He said, “Just because one nugget was true in 1876 doesn’t mean that it is true today… This country has matured.” “This country is different than it was 200 years ago. As a nation, we must grow with it.”
