Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and David Perdue (R-GA) shocked many observers earlier this week when they attacked the Republican secretary of state in Georgia and demanded his resignation for supposedly running an "embarrassment" of an election.
Sources tell the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the two Georgia senators were prompted to lash out at their own secretary of state because they feared President Donald Trump might say something bad about them if they didn't.
"We’re told the president and his top allies pressured the two Republican senators to take this step, lest he tweet a negative word about them and risk divorcing them from his base ahead of the consequential runoff," the publication writes.
Despite calls for his resignation, however, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said on Monday night that he had no plans to step down.
"I am the duly elected Secretary of State," he said. "One of my duties involves helping to run elections for all Georgia voters. I have taken that oath, and I will execute that duty and follow Georgia law."
President-elect Joe Biden currently leads Trump by more than 12,000 votes in Georgia, although that lead is narrow enough where the state will likely undergo a recount.