WASHINGTON (AP) – Enraging President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence acknowledged on Wednesday that he does not have the power to reject the electoral votes that will make Democrat Joe Biden the next president, ending Trump’s unfounded hopes of that Pence could somehow find a way to keep them in office.
Pence, under intense pressure from Trump and his allies to overturn the election results, issued a lengthy statement outlining his conclusion that a vice president cannot claim “unilateral authority” to reject states’ electoral votes.
“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,” wrote Pence in a letter to members of Congress before hammering on the joint session of the Congress.
In a remarkable moment, highlighting the dramatic divide between Trump and his once most loyal lieutenant, Pence released the statement shortly after arriving at the Capitol to count the electoral votes and even as the president told thousands of supporters gathered near the White House that Pence could cancel those results.
“If Mike Pence does the right thing, we will win the election,” Trump said to supporters, who later marched through Washington and invaded the Capitol.
Trump tweeted his disapproval of Pence after returning to the White House.
“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 they were asked to certify in advance,” he wrote. “The US demands the truth!”
After losing case after case and without additional options, Trump and his allies spent days in a futile attempt to convince Pence – and his legion of supporters – that the vice president had the power to reject voters from battle states he voted for. Biden.
He does not know. The Constitution makes it clear that the role of the vice president in the joint session is largely ceremonial, much like that of a master of ceremonies.
Although Pence’s allies made it clear that he intended to challenge Trump, the vice president’s public statement was nevertheless a significant change for Pence, who has spent the past four years defending the president and carefully avoiding his anger.
Enraging Trump risks compromising Pence’s carefully planned political future. Pence has his eye on a run for the White House in 2024 and has bet on his years of loyalty to Trump to help him stand out in what must be a crowded field. Even out of office, Trump is expected to remain the de facto leader of the Republican Party and a creator of political kings for many years.
Trump spent much of Wednesday consumed by anger at Pence’s action, even as violent protesters invaded the U.S. Capitol, forcing lawmakers to hide and paralyzing the process. Even as the violence unfolded, most of Trump’s attention was devoted to Pence, according to a White House official who spoke only on condition of anonymity to discuss internal affairs.
Pence was ushered out of the Senate chamber to safety while protesters stormed the building. And it was the vice president, not Trump, who spoke to the acting secretary of defense to discuss the mobilization of the DC National Guard on Wednesday afternoon.
Pence made it clear in his three-page letter that he would follow the Constitution, not the commander-in-chief, regardless of the political repercussions. He acknowledged that a vice president has no unilateral power under the Constitution and Congressional rules that govern the counting of the Electoral College. The rules make it clear that it is up to members of the House and Senate to voice objections and assess their merits.
And so, while Trump’s demonstration continued in the bitter cold, Pence opened the proceedings and began opening the certificates of electoral votes for each state and presenting them to the nominated “tellers” of the House and the Senate in alphabetical order. The suit was soon put on hold for emergency when protesters stormed the Capitol, overburdened the police and forced the evacuation of the vice president and members of Congress.
“The violence and destruction that is taking place on the United States Capitol must stop and must stop now,” Pence tweeted later. “Everyone involved must respect the police and leave the building immediately.”
When the counting is finally over, Pence will then be tasked with announcing the winners of the disputes and formalizing his own defeat.
Despite the claims of Trump and his allies, there was no widespread election fraud. This was confirmed by several election officials and by William Barr, who stepped down as attorney general last month. Neither Trump nor any of the lawmakers who promised to object to the count presented credible evidence that would change the outcome.