Pence reportedly expected to attend the inauguration as Trump potentially leaves for Mar-a-Lago
President Trump may not be in attendance for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, but it appears his vice president will.
Vice President Mike Pence is expected to attend Biden's inauguration, Politico reported on Thursday and CNN confirmed. The decision to do so, Politico reports, became "easier" after Trump publicly lambasted Pence for not overturning the results of the 2020 election, despite his lack of authority to do so.
"It was a much more difficult decision days ago, but less difficult now," a person close to Pence told Politico.
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.
Trump had been publicly pressuring Pence to somehow prevent Biden's win from being certified by Congress this week, but Pence, who oversaw the counting of electoral votes, said "my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not." Trump reacted by attacking him on Twitter, claiming he "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done."
Trump has not officially confirmed whether he'll attend the inauguration after refusing to concede the election and falsely claiming he won in a landslide, but Politico reports he has told staff he doesn't expect to do so. He may also leave for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida the day before, according to the report, and potentially have a rally the day of. A spokesperson for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies told CNN on Thursday, "We have not been told by the president or vice president whether they will be there."
-
‘My donation felt like a rejection of the day’s politics’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump wants a weaker dollar but economists aren’t so sureTalking Points A weaker dollar can make imports more expensive but also boost gold
-
Political cartoons for February 3Cartoons Tuesday’s political cartoons include empty seats, the worst of the worst of bunnies, and more
-
EU and India clinch trade pact amid US tariff warSpeed Read The agreement will slash tariffs on most goods over the next decade
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
