Rep. Tom Rice says he now regrets his decision to vote against certifying Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

The South Carolina congressman, one of 10 Republicans in the House who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump during his second trial, talked about challenging the results in two states after last year's contest in an interview with Politico.


SOUTH CAROLINA GOP CENSURES TOM RICE OVER VOTE TO IMPEACH TRUMP

“In retrospect, I should have voted to certify,” Rice said. “I knew I should vote to certify. But because I had made a public announcement of my intent to object, I did not want to go back on my word. So yeah, I regret my vote to object.”

About a month after the 2020 presidential election, Rice said he joined other House members in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court over election integrity concerns.


Rice announced his intent to object to the results in a Jan. 6 Facebook post just as rioters breached the Capitol, disrupting lawmakers as they counted electoral votes.

"The oft-repeated statement that there is no proof of election irregularities is a lie," he said. "Bureaucrats and non-legislative officials took it upon themselves to alter the election process in violation of their own state law, in the weeks before the election."

After the riot took place, Rice said he was considering changing his position but ultimately became one of the 147 Republicans to object to certifying the election.

In his interview with Politico, Rice said he should have voted to certify the election results “because President Trump was responsible for the attack on the Capitol.”

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Rice said he voted to impeach Trump for his role in the events of Jan. 6. His vote drew ire from his party. The South Carolina Republican Party voted to censure him for his impeachment vote.

The five-term congressman is facing a primary challenge and opponents have criticized his impeachment vote.