Vice President Mike Pence presides over a joint session of Congress as it convenes on Jan. 6, 2021 to count the Electoral College votes cast in November's election. | Saul Loeb/Pool via APVice President Mike Pence informed members of Congress on Wednesday that he does not believe he has the power to "reject electoral votes unilaterally," essentially denying President Donald Trump's public demands that he help overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The assessment from the vice president came in a letter delivered ahead of a joint session of Congress on Wednesday afternoon, where Pence will preside over lawmakers' certification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory. It was released to the news media by the Office of the Vice President as Trump addressed supporters at a rally outside the White House, during which he repeatedly called upon Pence to aid in reversing the election's outcome. At the same time, lawmakers began filing into the House chamber to start the quadrennial proceedings.
"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," Pence wrote in his letter. "After a careful study of our Constitution, our laws, and our history, I believe neither view is correct."Several House Republicans and roughly a dozen senators have announced plans to object to individual states' electoral vote counts.
Although the president has continued to lean on Pence to throw out Biden's Electoral College victory, the vice president told Trump at a lunch on Tuesday that he will simply follow procedures allowing GOP objections and possibly make a statement related to election fraud during the congressional proceedings on Wednesday, POLITICO previously reported.
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