Pence: "Tragic" Jan. 6 no reason to scrap filibuster
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Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday called the Jan. 6 Capitol riot an attempt to "overturn results of the presidential election that had been certified by all 50 states."
Why it matters: Though the former vice president's op-ed in the Washington Post focuses on rebutting filibuster reforms, these are also the most public statements Pence has made about the post-election narrative and the attack as an effort to interfere with President Biden's victory.
- Pence's remarks come one day before former President Trump is set to hold a rally in Arizona. The 45th president had originally planned to hold a Jan. 6 anniversary press conference, but he canceled it the day before.
"Now that the anniversary of Jan. 6 has come and gone, some of us who lived through that tragic day in 2021 are getting a clearer picture of what was and is at stake," Pence wrote in the Post.
- "On Jan. 6, an angry mob ransacked the Capitol, largely to try to get Congress and me, as the president of the Senate, to use federal authority to overturn" the election results.
Of note: Some people in and around Pence's office have been cooperative as the House Jan. 6 select committee focuses on what former President Trump was doing during the more than three hours the Capitol was under attack, sources familiar with the testimony told Axios.
Driving the news: Pence called Biden's and Democrats' push to end the filibuster a "power grab," arguing that the "notion that Congress would break the filibuster rule to pass a law equaling a wholesale takeover of elections by the federal government is inconsistent with our nation’s history and an affront to our Constitution’s structure."
- "With this anniversary passed, I call on my former colleagues in the Senate to do as you did before: Uphold the right of states to conduct and certify elections," the former vice president wrote.
Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout with new information.
