Trump hits modest electoral reform bill, claims it proves Pence 'could have overturned the election'

A bipartisan group of senators is working on a bill clarifying that the vice president cannot just set aside slates of presidential electors and effectively overturn a presidential election, in response to an evident push by former President Donald Trump and his allies to exploit what they viewed as an ambiguity in the Electoral Count Act of 1887.
On Sunday evening, Trump issued a statement claiming that this legislative push shows that "Mike Pence did have the right to change the outcome, and they now want to take that right away. Unfortunately, he didn't exercise that power, he could have overturned the election!" One thing the House Jan. 6 committee is examining is whether Trump was involved in an effort to overturn President Biden's election, and committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) called this new Trump statement "an admission" as well as "a massively un-American statement."
Another prominent Trump critic, lawyer George Conway, summarized the legal problem with Trump's claim. "The Twelfth Amendment and the Electoral Count Act of 1887 already make it entirely clear that the vice president merely opens the envelopes," he tweeted. "But sometimes we want to make laws even clearer so that even semiliterate psychopaths have a chance at understanding them."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Even in terms of raw-power pragmatism, Trump's argument has flaws. Trump has so far only hinted he will run for a second term in 2024 — he suggested Saturday night that if given another term, he would pardon the Jan. 6 rioters and insurrectionists, for example — but his claim that Pence could have overturned the election on Jan. 6 means Vice President Kamala Harris would enjoy that same power in January 2025.
Commentator Josh Barro quipped that Trump calling the main GOP proponent of reforming the Electoral Count Act "Wacky Susan Collins" shows he's "phoning in the nicknames," a "pretty good sign Trump's not actually going to run again." Trump, of course, has proved impervious to such witty repartee.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Miami Freedom Tower’s MAGA library squeeze
THE EXPLAINER Plans to place Donald Trump’s presidential library next to an iconic symbol of Florida’s Cuban immigrant community has South Florida divided
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US