Republican Slams Elise Stefanik's 'Totally Wrong' Constitution Claim

Texas Republican Representative Dan Crenshaw said on Friday that Representative Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, is "totally wrong" following her recent remarks about decertifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.

On Thursday, Stefanik, an ally of former President Donald Trump, spoke with CNN's Kaitlan Collins and said that she would not have done what former Vice President Mike Pence did and instead would have worked to decertify the results of the 2020 election.

"The Constitution gives you no power, you being the vice president, it gives you no power to decertify the election," Crenshaw said while appearing on CNN's Inside Politics with Dana Bash on Friday. "The word certify is not even in there so this idea that there's this mechanism for Congress to certify or decertify an election, it's just totally wrong."

The congressman added: "If you did see that scenario that a 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, there's no procedure for it."

The Context:

While appearing on CNN on Thursday evening, Stefanik said, "I would not have done what Mike Pence did. I don't think that was the right approach...I specifically stand by what I said on the House floor."

She added: "There was unconstitutional overreach in states like Pennsylvania, and I think it's very important that we continue to stand up for the Constitution and have legal and secure elections, which we did not have in 2020."

What We Know:

Following the 2020 election, Trump and some other Republican lawmakers called on Pence to attempt to overturn the results from some states in his role as president of the Senate.

On January 6, 2021, a group of Trump supporters violently protested the election results at the U.S. Capitol building in an alleged effort to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden's Electoral College victory. Critics say the rioters were motivated by Trump's claims of widespread voter fraud, which have not been backed up by substantial evidence.

Pence declined the efforts and said in a statement on that day: "My considered judgment is that 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."

Newsweek reached out to Stefanik's press office via email for comment.

Views:

While appearing on CNN earlier on Friday, Representative Daniel Goldman, a New York Democrat, also responded to Stefanik's comments and said, "I think it is unbelievably revealing and incredibly shameful."

He added: "She issued a statement on January 6th castigating and chastising those who attacked the Capitol saying they should be prosecuted. She has now erased that statement and is now going back and saying that she would have overturned a lawful election if she was vice president."

What's Next:

Stefanik has been mentioned by some as a possible running mate for Trump, the frontrunner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, although the former president has yet to make an official announcement.

While speaking with Collins on Thursday, Stefanik was asked if she has had any conversations about possibly being picked as Trump's vice president, to which she said, "I would [be] proud to serve in a Trump administration, but we have a lot to do. I have a lot of responsibility as the Republican conference chair."

Update, 2/9/24, 1:15 p.m. EST: This story has been updated with further information and to reflect that Newsweek reached out to Stefanik for comment.

Update, 2/9/24, 1:43 p.m. EST: This story has been updated with further information.