A normally ceremonial role in the process of certifying the Electoral College results could have major implications for Vice President Mike Pence’s political future, as some Republicans look to him to aid their long-shot challenges to the 2020 presidential election.
President Trump, the man who chose Pence as his running mate, seems to be one such Republican. “The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday. Then early Wednesday, Trump tweeted that if Pence “comes through for us, we will win the Presidency.”
As president of the Senate, Pence will preside over Wednesday’s joint session of Congress counting electoral votes. Over 100 House Republicans, joined by at least a dozen GOP senators, plan to challenge the elector slates of multiple contested battleground states where Trump alleges widespread voter fraud tipped the balance in President-elect Joe Biden’s favor.
Pence already found himself in the awkward position of having to declare Biden the
