Vice President Mike Pence wants a judge to start a lawsuit aimed at empowering him to overturn the results of the 2020 elections.
Justice Department attorneys filed a response on Thursday to the lawsuit purchased earlier this week by Texas MP Louie Gohmert and other elected Republicans.
They argue that the Electoral Counting Act, enacted in 1887, is unconstitutional – and that Pence has the authority to decide which electoral votes to count.
But Pence’s lawyers say the case should have been filed against Congress – not against him.
“The plaintiff’s lawsuit is not an appropriate vehicle for addressing these issues because the plaintiffs sued the wrong defendant,” says the 14-page petition filed in Texas federal court. “The vice president – the only defendant in this case – is ironically the same person whose power they seek to promote.”
The lawyers also added: “A process to establish that the vice president has discretionary power over counting, brought against the vice president, is a walking legal contradiction.”
Pence will preside over Congress on January 6, when he votes to certify electoral votes.
Last month, Joe Biden was named the winner of the presidential election after a formal vote by the Electoral College. Biden received 306 electoral votes, while President Trump obtained 232. A total of 270 is needed to win the presidency.