Georgia state senators who backed attempts to overturn presidential election stripped of committee assignments
Three Republican Georgia state senators who supported President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were demoted Wednesday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Two days into the state legislature’s winter session, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) took action against state Sens. Brandon Beach of Alpharetta, Matt Brass of Newnan and Burt Jones of Jackson.
The demotions mean that Beach will no longer chair the state’s Transportation Committee, and Jones will be replaced as chair on the Insurance and Labor Committee. Brass will now oversee a banking committee — a lesser position than he previously held, according to Journal-Constitution.
While the demotions were somewhat expected, not all members of the assembly who supported the president’s efforts faced penalties, the Journal-Constitution wrote.
The changes come as Georgia has experienced significant recent political upheaval.
Georgia became a major target of election fraud claims after the traditionally red state voted in favor of President-elect Joe Biden in November, with President Trump reportedly calling a Georgia elections investigator in December to request that he “find the fraud.”
No fraud was found in Georgia’s presidential race or Senate runoff races by state election officials, which resulted in victories for both Democrats who ran, Sen.-elect Jon Ossoff and Sen.-elect Raphael Warnock.
Biden’s, Ossoff’s and Warnock’s wins turned Georgia blue for the first time since 1992 and gave Democrats majority in the Senate.
A recent Hill-HarrisX poll found that 56 percent of Georgia voters are happy with the way the state’s election panned out.
— Updated 10:35 p.m.
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