WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump called on his fellow Republicans Monday to federalize US elections, breaking with a key constitutional provision that grants states the right to run the polls.

"Amazing that the Republicans aren't tougher on it. The Republicans should say, 'we want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least, many, 15 places.' The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting today," he said in comments made on a right-wing podcast.

"We have states that are so crooked, and they're counting votes. We have states that I won, that show I didn't win. Now you're going to see something in Georgia where they were able to get with a court order, the ballots. You're going to see some interesting things come out," added Trump.

The comments likely refer to last week's FBI raid on an elections office in Fulton County, Georgia as it investigates alleged voter fraud in the 2020 US presidential election in which Trump lost to Joe Biden.

Trump has long claimed that he lost the election due to unspecified fraud, and as it became clear that he would lose Georgia, he appealed to Republican officials in the battleground state to "find 11,780 votes" to overturn Biden's victory there. They rebuffed the president's demand.

None of Trump's claims of wrongdoing have ever been proven.

But his wider appeal to federalize elections as the US prepares for midterm elections in November appears to be at odds with the US Constitution, whose first article grants state legislatures the authority to determine the "times, places and manner" of elections.

It further grants Congress the authority to change the rules, but it is unclear if Trump is actually seeking legislative action from Congress, or even in which jurisdictions he would want them to take action.

The party of the incumbent president typically loses seats in Congress, and Trump has long bemoaned the fact. He reportedly told Republicans last month behind closed doors that if Democrats are successful in gaining a House majority, "I’ll get impeached."

The president was twice impeached during his first term.

If Trump is seeking to have Congress usher in new rules to federalize elections, the prospects of him being successful appear dim at best. Already, some Republicans are seeking to add language to a critical funding bill to require proof of citizenship for voting in federal elections.

The effort has been rejected by Democrats, who have warned that it could result in a prolonged government shutdown because they will reject any bill that includes the requirement.