Trump says Pence has ‘power to act’ in Congress election count despite VP’s ceremonial role
President Donald Trump walking out to speak in the Brady Briefing Room in the White House, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020, in Washington. Walking behind Trump is Vice President Mike Pence. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Testing widget old system
WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — President Donald Trump released a statement late Tuesday refuting a report by media outlets claiming that Vice President Mike Pence told the president he could not block Wednesday’s Electoral College vote count by Congress.
The president’s statement said in part: “The vice president and I are in total agreement that the vice president has the power to act.”
Trump continued:
“Our vice president has several options under the U.S. Constitution. He can de-certify the results or send them back to the states for change and certification. He can also de-certify the illegal and corrupt results and send them to the House of Representatives for the one vote for one state tabulation.”
About a dozen Republican senators, as well as dozens of Republicans in the House, plan to object to the certification of the Electoral College results in Congress on Wednesday. Pence’s role in Wednesday’s vote count is largely ceremonial, and he has no power to affect the outcome.
President-elect Joe Biden, a Democrat, beat Trump 306-232 in the Electoral College and, in the popular vote, by more than 7 million ballots. Trump has declined to concede the election.
Read Trump’s full statement:
The New York Times report regarding comments Vice President Pence supposedly made to me today is fake news. He never said that. The Vice President and I are in total agreement that the Vice President has the power to act. The November 3rd election was corrupt in contested states, and in particular it was not in accordance with the Constitution in that they made large scale changes to election rules and regulations as dictated by local judges and politicians, not by state legislators. This means that it was illegal. Our Vice President has several options under the U.S. Constitution. He can decertify the results or send them back to the states for change and certification. He can also decertify the illegal and corrupt results and send them to the House of Representatives for the one vote for one state tabulation.“
Statement from President Donald J. Trump
Stick with NewsNation for updates on the Electoral College vote count, which will be streamed live on NewsNationNow.com Wednesday. at 1 p.m. EST.
