Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), the first Republican in the Senate to publicly announce that he would contest Congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, admitted on Tuesday night that Vice President Mike Pence cannot do nothing to cancel the results.
Appearing on Fox News’ Ingraham’s angle, Hawley was asked by pro-Trump host Laura Ingraham if he thought Pence “shouldn’t accept certification for tomorrow’s election.” This comes in the wake of President Donald Trump’s false claim that the vice president “has the power” to block Biden’s victory.
“You know, my understanding is that under the 12th amendment, and under the relevant laws, the vice president, he opens the certificates and gives them to the registrar in the Senate and the House and they count the votes,” Hawley muttered nervously. “I don’t think the vice president really has the law. He’s just there. This is really in Congress. “
The president has put intense pressure on Pence in recent days to block the Electoral College’s vote certification when Congress meets on Wednesday, something Pence has no power to do in his largely symbolic role. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Pence informed Trump that he cannot overturn the election during his weekly lunch, something the president immediately objected to, issuing a statement saying the two are “totally in agreement” and that Pence “never said so”.