The Vice President of the United States Mike Pence has released a letter to the United States Congress, as a joint session convenes today to certify the results of the electoral college in the November election, which will officially solidify President-elect Joe Biden as the next president.
LETTER FROM @VP PENCE TO CONGRESS: "I do not believe that the Founders of our country intended to invest the Vice President with unilateral authority to decide which electoral votes should be counted …"
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) January 6, 2021
It reads:
Statement from Vice President Mike Pence: pic.twitter.com/HJTX5sI5GZ
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) January 6, 2021
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) January 6, 2021
This is consistent with what both VP Pence and his spokespeople have been saying recently about the powers he has (or doesn’t have) at his disposal as ceremonial president of the U.S. Senate. And he’s reportedly told Pres. Trump as much, as Reuters reported Tuesday:
Despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to help overturn his election loss, Vice President Mike Pence will stick to his ceremonial duties and not block Wednesday’s certification by Congress of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, advisers said.
U.S. states have already certified the results, and Pence’s role on Wednesday as president of the Senate is to “open all the certificates,” in the presence of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the U.S. Constitution says.
[…]
Pence told Trump on Tuesday he did not believe he had the power to block the certification, according to a source familiar with the subject. The New York Times first reported the contents of the conversation.
The letter comes just minutes after President Donald Trump told a crowd of supporters gathered in front of the White House that he hoped “[Pence’s] going to stand up for the good of our Constitution and for the good of our country.”
MOMENTS AGO: President Trump issues warning to VP Mike Pence: "Mike Pence, I hope you're going to stand up for the good of our Constitution and for the good of our country — and if you're not, I'm going to be very disappointed in you." pic.twitter.com/Gv99oPR4iU
— The Hill (@thehill) January 6, 2021
Though not all Republicans, even conservatives, are on the same page on what will happen today. We’ll all have to watch what happens in Congress later on.
Update: My colleague Shipwreckedcrew reviewed some of the possible moves Pence could take on January 6, in a piece earlier this morning.
As this is a breaking story, RedState will provide updates as they become available.
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