A Republican member of the Georgia State Elections Board has denied allegations that he sought a role in a second Donald Trump administration.
Former state Senator Rick Jeffares is one of three pro-Trump members on the five-member regulatory panel who believe Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden due to voter fraud – an unproven claim.
On Tuesday, The Guardian reported that Jeffares, in a conversation with Trump’s former adviser Brian Jack, had put himself forward for the position of regional director of the Environmental Protection Agency if Trump wins the election in November.
“I said if you can’t decide who should be the EPA director for the Southeast, then I’d like to have him,” Jeffares said, the outlet reported. “That’s all I said.”
The report sparked outrage in Georgia and calls for Jeffares’ resignation. The allegations that Jeffares sought a role in Trump’s administration also led to corruption allegations, given Jeffares’ role on the state election board, which recently cast a number of votes in Georgia favoring Trump.
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At a recent campaign rally in Atlanta, Trump mentioned Jeffares and two other members of the Electoral College – Janelle King and Janice Johnston – by name after the committee passed a new rule giving it the power to delay certification of election results until any discrepancies are fully resolved through a “reasonable investigation.”
Jeffares, who said The Guardian He said he is now convinced that Trump deserved to lose the 2020 election in Georgia, but denied that he was trying to get a job at the EPA next year.
In conversation with The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionJeffares said he turned down the EPA job during Trump’s first term, adding that he had told friends he would consider the job now, but he never formally asked for it.
“I haven’t spoken to anyone in the Trump administration. Ever since Trump mentioned us at the rally, it’s been a burden for us,” he said.
“How the rumor started that I was joining the government is beyond me. It’s all about making us look like criminals. I have emails and voicemail messages that would make you blush.”
Speaking to Georgian news channel 11Alive, Jeffares added: “You have blown up a trivial story. Enough with the media. This is fucking ridiculous.”
Newsweek has contacted Jeffares’ office for further comment.
Johnston, Jeffares and King all voted for the amendment allowing the board to launch an “appropriate investigation” when alleged voting discrepancies emerge.
Charles S. Bullock, professor of public and international affairs at the University of Georgia, said Newsweek that the rule and its vague “reasonable investigation” language could allow board members to refuse to certify an election if they “don’t like the outcome.”
The board also recently voted to ask Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to reinvestigate Fulton County government over its handling of the 2020 vote count.
Trump and several of his allies now face trial on charges of illegally attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Democratic state Rep. Saira Draper suggested that Jeffares should resign if he seeks a job in the Trump administration in addition to his service on the Georgia Elections Board.
“The public needs to ask themselves: Are you taking these actions, are you making these policies because they are going to have an impact that will benefit you financially?” Draper told 11Alive.
On X (formerly Twitter), Max Flugrath of Fair Fight Action, a voting rights advocacy group in Georgia, wrote: “Jeffares’ proposal to nominate himself for a specific position in another possible Trump administration while simultaneously serving on the Georgia Board of Elections and passing new Trump-supported voting rules reeks of corruption.”
