Vice President Mike Pence wants a judge to launch a lawsuit seeking to grant him the power to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Justice Department attorneys filed a response Thursday to the lawsuit filed earlier this week by Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert and other elected Republicans.
They argue that the Electoral Count Act, enacted in 1887, is unconstitutional and that Pence has the authority to decide which electoral votes are counted.
But Pence’s lawyers say the lawsuit should have been filed against Congress and not against himself.
“The lawsuit of these plaintiffs is not an appropriate vehicle to address these issues because the plaintiffs have sued the wrong defendant,” the 14-page document filed in Texas federal court says. “The vice president – the only defendant in this case – is ironically the person who seeks to promote power.”
Lawyers also added, “A lawsuit to establish that the vice president has discretion over the count, filed against the vice president, is a traveling legal contradiction.”
Pence will chair Congress on Jan. 6 when he votes to certify the election votes.
Last month, Joe Biden was named the winner of the presidential election after a formal vote by the Electoral College. Biden received 306 electoral votes, while President Trump got 232. A total of 270 are needed to win the presidency.