WASHINGTON (SBG) — A heated hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee Wednesday summed up just how divided lawmakers and many Americans are about the 2020 election. 

Chairman Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., started the hearing titled "Examining Irregularities in the 2020 Election" with a comment that quickly proved to be untrue. 

“This hearing should not be controversial," Johnson said. 

Johnson told Sinclair on Tuesday that in order for the country to move forward, officials need examine allegations of "irregularities."

President Donald Trump's legal team and political allies have already failed dozens of times to prove their allegations of widespread fraud and dispute election laws in court. 

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the ranking member on the committee said giving these allegations "more oxygen is a threat to our democracy" and would serve as a "platform for conspiracy theories and lies.”

According to a new Morning Consult poll, 63% of voters think the election was free and fair. Among Republican voters, only 27% think it was free and fair. 

Peters pointed out that Attorney General William Barr confirmed there was no evidence of widespread fraud that would change the result of the presidential election.

“The president and many of his supporters are unfortunately continuing their efforts to undermine the will of the people, disenfranchise voters and sow the seeds of mistrust and discontent to further their partisan desire for power," Peters said. 

Johnson compared Wednesday's hearing to Democrats' reaction to the last presidential election. 

“They spent four years undermining the credibility and legitimacy of the 2016 election and really shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody that when the other side wins this time, there will be people questioning from the other side as well," Johnson said Tuesday. 

Trump campaign attorney Jesse Binnall was among the witnesses Wednesday, who said the result of the 2020 election was "authoritarianism" and that individuals should be charged for voter fraud.

Binnall's claims were in a stark contrast to the testimony of fellow witness Chris Krebs, the former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at the Department of Homeland Security. Krebs was recently fired by Trump after CISA officials issued a statement that said "the November 3rd election was the most secure in American history."

Krebs, a Republican, made a plea to his party. 

“We have to stop this. It’s undermining confidence in our democracy," Krebs said. 

The hearing occurred one day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the election for the first time. 

Congress will meet in a joint session on Jan. 6 to approve the vote of the Electoral College. 

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be inaugurated on Jan. 20.