At a rally in Georgia on Monday night, President Donald Trump cautioned Vice President Mike Pence against failing to support his campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The moment: While ostensibly campaigning for Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who are embroiled in fiercely contested runoffs that will determine whether the GOP remains in control of the Senate, Trump told rallygoers “I hope Mike Pence comes through for us.”
- “He’s a great guy. Of course, if he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him quite as much,” Trump added.
- On Wednesday, Pence is scheduled to preside over a joint session of Congress to certify the results of the 2020 election and formally announce a winner.
- Most political observers believe Pence has no real authority to challenge the certification of election results and a lawsuit aiming to allow Pence to ignore Joe Biden’s electors was dismissed in a matter of days.
Pence, who also spoke at the Georgia rally on Monday, said he shared “the concerns of millions of Americans about voting irregularities.”
What’s next? A group of Republicans, including Perdue and Loeffler, in the House and Senate have announced their intention to object to the certification of Biden’s victory on Wednesday.
- The Democratic majority in the House makes it highly unlikely that such objections would be sustained.
- Even in the Senate, GOP leaders expect they’ll have enough votes to confirm Biden’s victory.
After initial confusion over whether Pence would even show up on Wednesday, the vice president’s office confirmed he was still expected to preside over the certification of election results.
