US vice-president to preside over joint session of upper and lower houses of Congress, which will approve results of electoral vote
U.S. Vice President Michael Pence has refused to review the results of the November 3 presidential election, which was won by Democrat Joseph Biden. This was reported on Tuesday by The Hill newspaper, citing court documents.
They say that lawyers for Republican congressman Louie Gohmert (from Texas) have reported that Pence has rejected their request to join in an attempt to overturn the presidential election results. Gohmert filed a lawsuit against Pence in Texas state court on Monday, seeking to argue that the vice president has the exclusive right to determine which members of the electoral college will be counted in a joint meeting on January 6 by the US Senate and the House of Representatives when formally approving the results of the December 14 college vote.
The lawsuit essentially asks the court to grant Pence the right to overturn presidential election results in swing states, such as Arizona, on January 6 and to require Congress to count Republican electors who favoured Trump over those who favoured Biden during the alternative, unrecognised vote during the official count. Court documents note that Gohmert’s representatives contacted Pence before filing the lawsuit, but consultations did not result in any agreement. The vice-president himself has not publicly commented on the situation.
Pence, who, like President Donald Trump, represents the US Republican Party, is to preside over a joint session of the upper and lower houses of Congress that will approve the results of the electoral vote. The fact is that the vice president is, according to the US Constitution, the president of the Senate.
The US presidential election was held on 3 November. On 14 December, the electoral college approved the results of the vote, according to which Democrat Biden will become the new head of state. However, Trump does not concede defeat and is appealing to the courts for a recount in a number of states. However, the White House master’s lawyers have had no success with their claims being rejected by the courts, including the US Supreme Court. According to the latest figures, more than 81.2 million voters voted for Biden and 74.2 million for Trump.
The inauguration of the next US chief of staff will take place on 20 January.