Pro-Trump Congressman Accuses GOP Senator of Bribing Trump Campaign to Push Out Her Opponent

Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) was appointed to the Senate by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp following the resignation of former Senator Johnny Isakson.

Now, Loeffler is facing her first election for the position, and she's running against a congressional favorite among supporters of President Donald Trump.

Congressman Doug Collins (R-GA) has been one of Trump's most vocal defenders in the House of Representatives, especially during the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment hearings late last year.

With Loeffler and Collins competing to seem the most pro-Trump Senate choice for Georgia voters, one of Collins' allies in the House of Representatives is stepping in with allegations against Loeffler.

At a recent campaign event for Collins, pro-Trump Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) accused Loeffler of offering the Trump campaign $50 million to help push Collins out of the race.

According to The Daily Beast, Gaetz said:

"This is what the Loeffler team went to the Trump team with. They went and said, 'Look, you guys gotta get Doug Collins out of this race' … She said, 'I have $50 million for this project, and I can either spend my $50 million getting new voters and helping the Trump campaign, or I can spend that $50 million taking out Doug Collins.'"

Daily Beast reporter Lachlan Murphy says the Loeffler team's version of events was "more nuanced than Gaetz portrayed it":

"According to one source familiar with the interactions, the Loeffler team's offer had more to do with supporting other Senate candidates than with supporting the president, and was actually relayed to the president's campaign by way of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). 'Basically it was to get McConnell and the Senate committee behind Loeffler and to not support Collins,' the source said."

Loeffler, whose husband owns a significant stake in the New York Stock Exchange, is the wealthiest current United States Senator. She faced backlash this year when records revealed she sold a significant portion of her stocks while also investing in telework companies. The sale came just after a closed door Senate briefing on the virus, then in its early stages, and before widespread stay at home orders took effect across the nation.

People aren't sure which Trump devotee to trust.

Regardless, people were disturbed by the level of corruption within the party supposedly sent to "drain the swamp" in D.C.