Pence publicly states he has no unilateral authority to reject electoral votes
His letter grounded the refusal in the Constitution and limited the presiding officer to counting lawfully submitted votes.
Entities and roles
- Donald J. TrumpDonald Trump network root
- Mike PenceTrump vice president and 2020 running mate
Relationships in this file
- Donald J. Trumpvice president and running mateMike Pence
Claims and evidence
- factdocumented
Before the joint session, Pence released a letter stating that his oath prevented him from claiming unilateral authority to decide which electoral votes counted. The position matched the advice of his counsel and conservative judge Michael Luttig. It was the formal institutional break: Pence chose the constitutional presiding role over Trump's personal directive.
- United States Government Publishing Office: Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States CapitolExecutive Summary pages 31–38 and Chapter 5: Pence legal position and January 6 letter
- Associated Press: Pence says he cannot claim unilateral authority to reject electoral votesFull January 6 letter, constitutional rationale, and rejection of unilateral authority