Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday that he would reject President Donald Trump’s demand to try to block confirmation of Joe Biden’s election as the next president of the United States by Congress.
Pence said in a letter that he did not believe, as Trump claimed, that a vice president had the uniltateral power to reject the Electoral College votes for a candidate.
His dramatic break with Trump came just minutes before the vice president started to chair a joint session of Congress, which will meet to declare Biden the winner.
“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 ones should not,” said Pence in a three-page letter addressed to “Dear Colleague.”
“Given the controversy surrounding this year’s election, some approach this year’s four-year tradition with great anticipation, and others with contemptuous disdain,” wrote Pence.
“Some believe that, as vice president, I should be able to accept or reject electoral votes unilaterally. Others believe that electoral votes should never be challenged in a joint session of Congress. After careful study of our Constitution, our laws and our story, I believe that neither opinion is correct. “
US Vice President Mike Pence chairs a joint session of Congress to count the electoral votes for president at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 6, 2021.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
When Pence released his statement, Trump was speaking at a rally outside the White House, where he reiterated his call for the vice president to undo Biden’s election. Trump and his allies claim, without evidence, that he and Pence lost to Biden and elected vice president Kamala Harris because of widespread electoral fraud in a handful of states that gave Biden his margin of victory.
“Mike Pence, I hope you will defend for the sake of our Constitution and for the sake of our country, and if not, I will be very disappointed in you, I will tell you now,” Trump said at the rally.
“I’m not listening to good stories.”
Several courts have dismissed Trump’s allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the vice president’s letter.
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