A rift has emerged between former vice president Mike Pence and his former boss Donald Trump since the Capitol insurrection last year. According to Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, Pence may push back against his former boss’s claim about overturning the election in an upcoming event.
Haberman reported that Pence may consider pushing back against Trump’s latest statement, claiming that the vice president had the authority to overturn the election results. The former vice president may respond to the statement in his remarks at an upcoming Federalist Society event in Florida this week.
“I’m told Pence may respond to Trump’s ‘overturn’ statement at a Federalist Society speech on Friday in Fla,” tweeted Haberman.
It remains to be seen what Pence may think of saying at the event and whether or not he would respond to the rant. The former vice president has constantly reiterated that he does not have the legal authority to overturn the electoral votes of the states. Pence’s refusal to do what his now-former boss demanded him to do, led to him becoming one of the targets by the pro-Trump mob during the insurrection last year.
During a speech last year, according to Politico, Pence reiterated that the vice president has no authority in overturning electoral votes, especially during the joint session of Congress where the votes are formally counted. The former vice president at the time also condemned the notion that such authority existed.
“There’s almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president,” said Pence.
Meanwhile, Pence’s former chief counsel Greg Jacobs was revealed to have spoken with the House committee probing the riots. Jacobs is the latest in Pence’s team to come forward to the committee and testify on the events, following the former vice president’s top aide Marc Short. Jacobs was seen leaving the room where the bipartisan panel interviews witnesses as part of its probe.
Jacob spoke with the committee for almost nine hours, including lunch and other breaks in between.
According to the Washington Post, both Short and Jacobs were with Pence at the Capitol when the insurrection took place. They were forced to evacuate to a safe location within the Capitol complex as the mob of Trump supporters threatened to have Pence hanged.