Mike Pence ‘Welcomes’ GOP Effort To Overturn Election Results
Vice President Mike Pence’s office said Saturday that he “welcomes” the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
In a statement supplied to The Hill, Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, said that the Indiana Republican “shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities in the last election.”
“The Vice President welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people on January 6th.”
Democrat Joe Biden won both the Electoral College and the popular vote in the 2020 election, but President Donald Trump and his allies have deemed the results illegitimate, alleging widespread voter fraud.
Pence will preside over the January 6 joint session of Congress that will certify Electoral College votes and formally declare Biden the winner.
Some prominent Trump backers have turned on Pence over his apparent reluctance to endorse Trump’s theories about the 2020 presidential race. Notably, lawyer Lin Wood — who has filed a number of lawsuits on behalf of the Trump campaign — recently accused Pence of treason.
Republicans in both chambers of Congress have vowed to challenge the results. Representatives Andy Biggs of Arizona, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Jody Hice of Georgia and several others have indicated that they will object to the certification.
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri was the first Republican in the upper chamber to make the same promise. Per CNBC, senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Steve Daines of Montana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Mike Braun of Indiana, James Lankford of Oklahoma and John Kennedy of Louisiana have joined Hawley.
Senators-elect Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Roger Marshall of Kansas and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama will also participate in the effort.
The objection is said to be all but certain to fail, given that a majority in both chambers would have to support the initiative in order for it to hold. Democrats control the House and several GOP senators have expressed opposition to the idea.
Notably, Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said that Hawley, Cruz and others “justify their intent by observing that there have been many allegations of fraud,” but noted that the Trump campaign has lost dozens of lawsuits in courts across the nation.
“They fail to acknowledge that these allegations have been adjudicated in courtrooms across America and were found to be unsupported by evidence,” Toomey stated.
