The discussion was “totally unrelated” to the final tweet, said one person familiar with the matter, but declined to specify whether the issue of the January 6 ratification was under discussion in Congress. The two men separated for the holidays.
On Wednesday night, as he flew to Florida for vacation, Trump retweeted an appeal from one of his supporters to Pence to refuse to ratify the January 6 electoral college results – a prospect that captured his imagination, even though it remains complete to exist. impossible.
Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was with Trump on Air Force One before the president sent the tweet. Giuliani accompanies Trump on vacation at his Mar-a-Lago estate, where the men are expected to discuss their election efforts.
Trump has recently told people that Pence is not doing enough to fight for him now that his presidency is coming to an end, and has recently expressed interest in Pence’s traditional role in certification. As president of the Senate, Pence chairs the proceedings.
Sources say Trump has referred the matter to the vice president in recent days and is “confused” as to why Pence can’t undo the January 6 election results.
Pence’s assistants and the White House have tried to explain to him that his role is more of a formality and that he cannot unilaterally reject votes from the electoral college.
Traditionally, the vice president presides over the election’s certification, although this is not a requirement. In 1969, then Vice President Hubert Humphrey did not chair the trial, having just lost Richard Nixon’s presidential election. Instead, the president presided pro tempore of the senate.
A source close to Pence said it is not seen as a good option for Republican Senator Chuck Grassley – the current president pro tempore – to be there instead of Pence on Jan. 6.
On Tuesday, Pence spoke to a group of young conservatives in Florida, but did not directly address his upcoming role. Instead, he told the crowd that while the White House continues to contest the election, they “will keep fighting until every legal vote is counted” and “every illegal vote is thrown out.”
“Stay in the fight for election integrity. Stay in the fight to defend everything we’ve done,” he said.
Earlier this week, Pence took part in a meeting between Trump and a significant group of House conservatives, where the attempt to reverse the January election results was discussed.
The discussion centered on Trump’s baseless allegations and conspiracies that the election was stolen from him, participants said, and lawmakers were assured there would be a contingent of House and Senate Republicans who would join the effort and marathon debate on the floor would cause January 6 that would spill over into January 7.
The Republican Leading the Way, Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks, said Pence attended “different parts” of the meeting.
“I believe we have several senators, and the question is not if, but how many,” Brooks said, defying the wishes of the Senate Republican leaders who are eager to go further and urge senators not to participate. as this could. forcing them to cast a politically toxic vote against Trump.
Brooks told CNN Monday night they would try to challenge elections in at least six battlefield states, saying he must coordinate “a whopping 72” five-minute speeches that GOP lawmakers would hold that day.
“That is an important task,” he said.
The effort is doomed to fail, but would create a spectacle that Senate GOP leaders want to avoid. And if a Member of Parliament and a senator object to the results of six states, that would lead to at least 12 hours of debate, in addition to voting time on each of the motions, potentially extending the fight until the next day. .