Falling in line with fellow conservative lawmakers, US Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) indicated Tuesday that his decision to not object to the Electoral College certification was not made lightly, as he took into account the stances of his many constituents.
“It was brutal, to be honest,” Cramer said during an interview with MSNBC. “But at the end of the day, there are two things. One is my conscience is captive to God, and my oath is to the Constitution of the United States.”
Citing the 12th Amendment, Cramer stressed that there is “no role for the Congress to object to the electors,” later remarking that both the House of Representatives and the US Senate are solely responsible for counting the “votes that are presented by the states.”
According to the US Constitution, the only scenario in which Congress can take a more proactive role in determining the winner of a presidential election is if no candidate wins a majority of electors, which is not the case currently, as US President-elect Joe Biden secured a majority with 306 electoral votes.
Cramer further explained that while he had heard from neither US President Donald Trump nor White House officials regarding his stance, he spent “a lot of time” reviewing evidence and listening to constituents and attorneys familiar with election matters.
“I’ve put a lot of intellectual rigor and emotion into this decision, so it doesn’t come easily," he said. "But I also have to say I’m quite comfortable with it.”
The Republican official’s Tuesday remarks came hours after he issued a statement revealing he would not be joining efforts by party members to challenge the ballot certification process.
In a late Monday release, Cramer called it “disappointing” that the vote has become the “exclusive litmus test” for lawmakers to prove whether they stand with Trump. The senator, who is a close ally of Trump, also stated the certification challenge “is not an appropriate or effective way to change the results.”
Cramer’s stance also mirrors that of fellow Trump supporter US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK), who received a special shout-out from the president over Twitter on Monday that warned the lawmaker against approving the electoral ballot count on Wednesday.
Efforts by Republicans to challenge the certification in the Senate were initially launched by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) before Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) joined in along with several other members of the chamber. Most recently, Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), who is currently facing a runoff election in the Peach State against Rev. Raphael Warnock, voiced her support for the count challenge.