Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell used pressure on Missouri Senator Josh Hawley on Thursday, urging him to explain his plan to prevent the impending Electoral College vote. Aside from setting up an awkward vote for the Senator, the move boosted the Missourian’s national profile.

McConnell received the silent treatment, and Hawley was not present. He later emailed GOP colleagues to explain his decision to object to the final certification process of President-elect Joe Biden’s win in the Nov. election. As expected, this move annoyed senior Republicans, and McConnell argued that doomed-to-fail voting to raise questions against the election results would force Senators to choose between going against President Donald Trump and taking the step to reverse the outcome of an election.

McConnell has previously warned Republican senators not to oppose when Congress confirms presidential votes, per Reuters. Moreover, McConnell hinted at the possibility of the vote hurting GOP senators, who are already facing tough general election fights by detaching moderate voters.

Disagreeing with the GOP-led objection, on the other hand, could put Republicans’ primary prospects in jeopardy by putting off voters who feel the election was stolen from Trump. The clash is part of upcoming tensions between Hawley and Republican leaders, POLITICO reported.

As the Missouri senator tries to glaze his anti-establishment credentials while filling his fundraising coffers before a 2024 presidential bid, the GOP hierarchy tries to protect incumbent senators. Regardless of which party wins the Georgia runoff elections, neither party will have strong control of the Senate leading up to the 2022 midterm elections.

A source familiar with the call told CNN that McConnell said to his members that he is giving them an opportunity to vote their conscience on these objections. With Hawley announcing his plan to oppose the confirmation process of President-elect Joe Biden's win, members face a choice to whether or not to rebuke the certification of a state's electors.

With 21 seats to defend, 19 Republican senators are slated to face reelection in 2022. There have been no shreds of evidence proving the Nov. election was rigged, and this has been affirmed by several elected officials, governors, judges, and even the Electoral College.

Aside from that, even the US Supreme Court, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Justice Department have said that there is no evidence of voter fraud big enough to impact the election. McConnell touted the impending vote as one of the most monumental votes ever to be cast by the Senators.