Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) disputed House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik’s (R-N.Y.) claim that she would have decertified the 2020 election if she had been vice president, calling it “totally wrong.”
Reacting to her comment in an interview on CNN, Crenshaw denounced Stefanik’s snub of former Vice President Mike Pence, arguing the position does not have the ability to decertify an election.
“The only reason I’m not worried is because what she’s saying is so completely incorrect,” Crenshaw told CNN’s Dana Bash on Friday. “The Constitution gives you no power — you, being the vice president — gives you no power to decertify the election. It’s very clear.”
“I mean, we could pull it up on the screen and read it. Mike Pence read it, and he came to the conclusion that he has no power to decertify [an] election,” he continued. “The word ‘certify’ is not even in there. So, this idea that there even is this mechanism for Congress to certify or decertify an election is just — it’s totally wrong.”
Crenshaw added, “Democrats have been totally wrong about it. They’ve done it all the last few elections. Republicans are wrong about it this time.”
His remarks come after the New York congresswoman, who is on the list of potential running mates for former President Trump’s 2024 ticket, said she would have rejected the electoral votes, unlike Pence, that handed President Biden victory on Jan. 6, 2021.
“I would not have done what Mike Pence did. I don’t think that was the right approach,” Stefanik said Thursday on CNN. “I specifically stand by what I said on the House floor.”
Bash asked the Texas lawmaker what would happen if someone, like Stefanik, was in the No. 2 position in 2024 and a similar situation occurred.
He brushed off the question, insisting Trump wouldn’t become president for a third time. But he added that their posture on the issue wouldn’t be a difference-maker, since they have no power to decertify an election.
“If Donald Trump wins, he’s not up for reelection the second time, so you won’t actually see that scenario,” Crenshaw said. “If you did see that scenario, that vice president could say whatever they wanted right there at the gavel. They could say whatever they wanted, and it wouldn’t matter because it’s not true.”
“The Constitution simply doesn’t allow it,” he added.