Pence Challenges Trump and Ends Outgoing President’s Efforts to Override Election Results

WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence challenged President Donald Trump on Thursday morning (January 7) when he affirmed the victory of President-elect Joe Biden in November, ending Trump’s futile efforts to subvert American democracy and annul the election results.

In a move that angered Trump and left his own political future far less certain, Pence acknowledged Wednesday that he did not have the power to unilaterally reject electoral college votes like Trump and some of his lawyers had wrongly insisted.

Pence, when the session came to a close, said the recount “will be considered a sufficient statement” of Biden’s victory, but offered no words of congratulations to the incoming administration. It capped off an extraordinary day of chaos, violence and division after a professional – Trump’s mob stormed the Capitol, sending lawmakers into hiding and delaying proceedings.

Under normal circumstances, the vote count procedure would be a mere formality, the final step in the complicated technical process of electing a new administration. But after losing court case after court case and with no other options at hand, Trump and his allies had focused on Jan.6 as their last chance to try to influence the outcome.

They spent days in a futile attempt trying to convince Pence that the vice president had the power to reject the voters of the battlefield states who voted for Biden, even though the Constitution makes clear that the vice president’s role in the joint session is largely ceremonial, much like a master of ceremonies.

Pence acknowledged that reality in a lengthy statement Wednesday setting out his conclusion that a vice president cannot claim “unilateral authority” to reject electoral votes from states.

“It is my thoughtful judgment that my oath to uphold and defend the Constitution limits me to claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not,” Pence wrote in a letter to members of Congress that was published shortly before he hammered in the joint session of Congress.

Not long after, the enraged crowd stormed the Capitol, overwhelmed the police and halted the process that had been started.

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DRAMATIC FISSURE

Pence’s move was an expected outcome, but it opened a dramatic rift between Trump and Pence, his once most loyal lieutenant.

On a dramatic splitscreen, Pence issued the statement just after arriving at the Capitol to count the votes and as the president told thousands of supporters gathered near the White House that Pence could override them if he wanted.

“If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election,” Trump mistakenly told his supporters, who then marched through Washington and stormed the Capitol.

He repeatedly returned to Pence throughout his speech, expressing his frustration as he tried to pressure the vice president to line up.

“Mike Pence will have to help us. And if it doesn’t, it is a sad day for our country, ”he said.

Trump, who has spent the past two months refusing to acknowledge his defeat, later tweeted his disapproval.

“Mike Pence did not have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and our Constitution, giving states the opportunity to certify a set of corrected facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones they were asked to certify in advance,” , wrote.” America demands the truth! “

Pence was also furious.

“I’ve known Mike Pence forever,” Republican Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma told Tulsa World. “I have never seen Pence so angry as today.”

“He said, ‘After all the things I’ve done for (Trump),'” Inhofe added.

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SIGNIFICANT OUTPUT

Despite claims by Trump and his allies, there was no widespread fraud in the election. This has been confirmed by a number of election officials and by William Barr, who resigned as Trump’s attorney general last month.

Neither Trump nor any of the lawmakers who objected to the count have presented credible evidence changing the outcome.

While Pence’s allies had made it clear that he intended to defy Trump and abide by the Constitution, the vice president’s move was nonetheless a significant change for a man who has spent the past four years defending the president in at all times and carefully avoiding his anger.

Pence is considering his own bid for president in 2024, and the episode could hurt his prospects, especially if Trump – or supporters who were mistakenly convinced that Pence had the power to change the outcome – hold a grudge.

Even out of office, Trump is expected to remain the de facto leader of the Republican Party and a political kingmaker for years to come.

Trump spent much of Wednesday consumed by anger over Pence’s actions, including as violent protesters invaded the US Capitol, forcing lawmakers to hide and paralyze proceedings, according to a White House official. who spoke only on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. .

Pence was herded out of the Senate chamber to safety when protesters entered the building. Pence never left the Capitol, according to his chief spokesman, and was in “regular contact” with House and Senate leaders, the Capitol Police, and the defense and justice departments throughout the ordeal.

“The violence and destruction taking place in the United States Capitol must stop and must stop now,” Pence later tweeted. “Everyone involved must respect law enforcement officials and leave the building immediately.”

After the House and Senate reconvened hours later, Pence reopened the proceedings and returned to the task of opening each state’s electoral vote certificates and presenting them to the designated House and Senate “tellers” in alphabetical order. .

After hours of voting and debate, he announced the contest winners, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, formalizing his defeat and that of Trump.