Trump claims Pence has power to reject 'fraudulently chosen electors'

Washington [US], January 6 : Outgoing US President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that Vice President Mike Pence has the power to reject fraudulent electors ahead of the joint session of the US Congress for the certification of the electoral college votes that declared President-elect Joe Biden the winner.
Biden was confirmed the winner of the November presidential election by the Electoral College on December 14 after all 50 states officially certified the voting results. According to official results, Biden collected 306 electoral college votes as opposed to 232 votes cast for incumbent Trump.
According to The Hill, Trump is "heaping pressure" on Pence to overturn the results in some states by rejecting the chosen electors -- a power the vice president doesn't have in what is largely a ceremonial role. "The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors," Trump wrote in a tweet.
"Congress could reject the results of a state's Electoral College vote, but it would require majorities in both chambers. There are not enough votes to overturn the results in either chamber given opposition from Democrats and many Republicans," The Hill reported.
There has not been an "indication" that Pence plans to deviate from a normal procedure in overseeing the certification on Wednesday, but the process promises to be an unusually dramatic day in Washington.
Trump's unsubstantiated claims that the election was "rigged" against him and rife with fraud have divided the GOP (another name for the Republican Party).
Many Republicans slammed his rhetoric and acknowledged Biden as the winner of the election. More (Republicans) on Tuesday also said they would not join plans by their colleagues to object to the Electoral College results.
"Objecting to certified electoral votes won't give the president a second term," Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who has opposed the efforts to challenge the results, wrote in an op-ed published by the Arkansas Democratic Gazette Tuesday as quoted by The Hill.
"With Democrats in control of the House, Republicans have no chance of invalidating even a single electoral vote, much less enough votes to deny Joe Biden a majority in the electoral college. Instead, these objections would exceed Congress' constitutional power, while creating unwise precedents that Democrats could abuse the next time they are in power," Cotton wrote.
However, some Republicans, including Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley have laid plans to object to the results.
Pence's chief of staff Marc Short said in a statement on Saturday that the vice president "welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people on January 6th."
Trump on Monday said he hoped Pence "comes through for us" as he discussed efforts to overturn the presidential election results, hinting at Pence's role overseeing the certification of the Electoral College vote count on Wednesday, The Hill reported.
"I hope that Mike Pence comes through for us, I have to tell you. He's a great guy," The Hill quoted Trump as saying at a rally in Dalton, Georgia.
Speaking at the rally Trump said, "Of course, if he doesn't come through, I won't like him quite as much," adding "Nah, Mike is a great guy. He's a wonderful man and a smart man and a man that I like a lot."
Incumbent Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are defending their seats against Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. The result of the election will determine whether the Republicans or the Democrats will have a majority in the upper chamber of theUS Congress.
If both Democratic candidates secure two seats in the Senate, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be in a position to cast the tie-breaking vote when necessary. However, if at least one Republican candidate wins re-election, it will be enough for Republicans to retain the majority in the Senate that will allow them to block much of the Democrat's agenda in a split government situation.