Last Updated on December 22, 2020
Vice President Mike Pence plans to oversee the Electoral College vote on January 6th, and then leave the country for a trip to Israel, Bahrain, and Poland.
Politico reported last week that Vice President Pence is tentatively planning a trip to the countries of Israel, Bahrain, and Poland, and will be leaving the country directly after he takes charge of counting the Electoral College votes in Congress on January 6th. One Pence ally told Politico that the timing of the trip is “anything but coincidental.”
“On the surface, the trip is part of a push to underscore the Trump administration’s role in brokering a series of diplomatic agreements to normalize relations between Israel and a handful of Arab countries, including Bahrain,” Politico notes. “[But the Israel trip also] allows Pence… to put distance between himself and Trump’s complaints about the election outcome that are likely to intensify after Congress affirms Biden’s win.”
The Vice President has been notably quiet regarding the President’s push for election integrity. Instead, Pence has spent his time since the election doing practically anything but: Pence has spent time campaigning down in Georgia, focusing on the pro-life policies of the administration, and working on the production of the coronavirus vaccine as the head of the coronavirus task force.
National File revealed the existence of a draft White House memo entitled “Operation Pence Card,” that sources within the Trump administration sent to National File. In the memo, they reveal that Vice President Pence not only has the power to reject Electoral College votes from states that violated the Constitution, but is “duty bound” to do so. As National File reported:
National File’s sources in the White House indicated that the memo was requested by those in the President’s circle who are most keen to see the 2020 election, and the ensuing fallout, administered in as transparent of a manner as possible. They also indicate that the push to find a path to verify the 2020 election’s integrity is not coming solely from the White House, but also comes from across numerous agencies in the administration.
The revelation that Pence alone can reject allegedly fraudulent Electoral College certificates shifts the spotlight from President Trump and Congressional leaders significantly by putting President Trump’s electoral destiny squarely on Pence’s shoulders.
If Vice President Pence does decide to get on board and support the President, it’s likely his trip to Israel and the rest of the region would likely either be rescheduled, or simply cancelled altogether.
