- Marc Short, vice president Mike Pence’s chief of staff, was banned from the White House today after President Donald Trump criticized Pence for refusing to try to annul the election.
- Trump urged Pence to challenge the results of the Electoral College, although the vice president did not have unilateral authority to do so.
- When Pence said he would not accept the president’s impossible demands, Trump said the vice president “did not have the courage to do what should be done”.
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Marc Short, vice president Mike Pence’s chief of staff, was banned from the White House today after President Donald Trump criticized Pence for refusing to try to annul the election. Bloomberg journalists reported for the first time.
Short said Trump prevented him from entering because the president is “blaming” him for the advice he gave Pence, according to RealClearPolitics reporter Philip Wegmann.
Short did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Pence was scheduled to oversee a joint session of Congress on Wednesday in which votes from the Electoral College, already certified by all 50 states, would be counted in a process that is usually nothing more than procedural.
Trump urged Pence to challenge the results during the session, although the vice president did not have unilateral authority to do so.
Before the session, which was interrupted by a violent crowd of Trump supporters, Pence released a statement saying he would not follow Trump’s impossible demands.
“It is my thoughtful judgment that my oath to support and defend the constitution prevents me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not,” he said.
The president responded, criticizing Pence, in a tweet that has since been hidden by Twitter: “Mike Pence did not have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and our constitution, giving states the chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones that were asked to certify in advance. The US demands the truth! “
The vice president is believed to be considering a presidential run in 2024, although his political ambitions may be affected by Trump’s criticisms.