The U.S. House of Representatives filed a brief in opposition of a lawsuit filed against Vice President Mike Pence by U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) attempting to halt the Electoral College count next week.
The House says that Gohmert is asking to displace a longstanding role that Congress has in counting the Electoral College votes.
“The unprecedented relief plaintiffs seek would invalidate the primary role of Congress in counting electoral votes — a role that Congress has played in our constitutional system for more than two hundred years and has been embodied in federal statute since 1887,” the brief states.
The House contends that asking Pence to go against the will of the voters would go against federal statutes.
“In a radical departure from our constitutional procedures and consistent legislative practices, it would authorize the Vice President to ignore the will of the Nation’s voters and to choose the winner in an election in which the holder of the office will often be a candidate, as is true in the 2020 election,” the brief states.
The House argues that the U.S. Supreme Court of Appeals should reject Gohmert’s request to overturn a centuries-old practice.
It contends that Congress formalized the actions in 1865 and has done so in every election since 1888, after the passage of the Electoral Count Act of 1887.
“Plaintiffs’ motion should be denied and their complaint dismissed for multiple reasons,” the brief states.
The House argues that the U.S. Supreme Court has no jurisdiction over the claims, that Gohmert’s constitutional challenges have no merit and that granting it would go against long standing procedures and be a first-of-its-kind injunction.
Gohmert believes that his lawsuit could succeed as there was already a request to expedite it that was granted by a district judge.
Pence was aware of the lawsuit before it was filed, Lone Star Standard previously reported.
“Five states are sending two sets of electors and (Pence) has to be able to determine which ones are based on fraud and which ones were not based on fraud,” Gohmert said, the news media reported. “So that’s what we’re seeking, a declaration that he can do just that.”
