Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), the first Senate Republican to publicly announce he would challenge Congressional certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory, admitted on Tuesday night that Vice President Mike Pence cannot do anything to reverse the results.
Appearing on Fox News’ The Ingraham CornerHawley was asked by pro-Trump presenter Laura Ingraham if he thought Pence should “not accept the certification of tomorrow’s election.” This comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s false claim that the vice president “has the power” to block Biden’s victory.
“You know, I understand that under the 12th Amendment, and under the relevant laws, the vice president opens the certificates and then hands them over to the registrar in the Senate and the House and they count the votes,” Hawley muttered nervously. “I don’t think the vice president really counts under the law. He’s just there. This is really at the convention. “
The president has been intensively pressuring Pence in recent days to block certification of voting in electoral college when Congress meets Wednesday, something Pence cannot do in his largely symbolic role. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Pence told Trump he cannot reverse the election at their weekly luncheon, something the president immediately disputed, by issuing a statement saying the two “were in full agreement” and that Pence “never did. said”.