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- Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, said that he expected to see legal challenges for the 2020 election, but expressed confidence in the integrity of the process.
- “I think the election may be complicated…I think we’re going to see litigation, and to some extent, the Electoral College will help us once again,” he said.
- Blunt said that both parties should be encouraging people to go out and vote.
- The senator said he strongly supports Judge Amy Coney Barrett and is “eager” to vote for her confirmation to the Supreme Court.
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Sen. Roy Blunt on Sunday said that he expected to see legal challenges for the 2020 presidential election but expressed confidence in the country’s electoral system.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” host Chuck Todd asked the Missouri Republican about President Donald Trump frequently bringing up electoral disputes and questioning the validity of mail-in ballots.
“I am concerned about this idea that somehow the election won’t be fair,” Blunt said. “I think the election may be complicated…I think we’re going to see litigation, and to some extent, the Electoral College will help us once again, and it will take most of the states off the table election night.”
“In maybe a handful of states, we’re going to have a fight about when ballots came in and whether they should be counted and whether the signature was necessary, and I’m eager for the country to work its way through that,” Blunt said.
Todd continued to press Blunt, asking if Trump’s complaints are diminishing the legitimacy of the election for some voters.
"Well, I hope not," he said. "I've actually passed my views on this along to the White House. I think we need to encourage our voters to vote, just like the Democrats need to encourage their voters to vote."
Blunt, the chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, was then asked about the Affordable Care Act and whether or not he supports the law being tossed out if Amy Coney Barrett, Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, is confirmed. He is a strong supporter of Barrett's ascension to the court.
"My hope is that on any case she deals with, she looks at the facts of the case, applies it to the Constitution and the law, and then makes a decision," he said.
While Blunt has never supported the Affordable Care Act in its entirety and voted for its repeal on multiple occasions, he said that he doesn't see preexisting condition protections or keeping children on health care plans to age 26 being taken away as "the American people have accepted that as a basic part of the ongoing system."