As tens of thousands of Trump supporters descend on Washington DC to show their support for the President today, a group of Senators and House representatives will challenge the ratification of Joe Biden’s electoral college win.

This, as the President, calls on Vice President Mike Pence to reject the electoral college’s vote in a tweet. (According to reports, the Vice President has already informed Trump that he does not have the legal authority to do so.)

It’s a historic moment and represents the last opportunity for congressional lawmakers to persuade state and court officials to reconsider the results or at least pursue a ten-day investigation into the results.

Crowd continues to increase in size with Trump supporters for today’s rally in Washington, DC. pic.twitter.com/poVMoDPBoa

— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) January 6, 2021

“Do it, Mike” Tweets Trump

Wednesday morning President Trump tweeted that the ball was effectively in the Vice President’s court writing, “States want to correct their votes, which they now know were based on irregularities and fraud, plus corrupt process never received legislative approval. All Mike Pence has to do is send them back to the States, AND WE WIN. Do it Mike, this is a time for extreme courage!”

The Vice President, however, does not have the legal power to reject electoral college votes. Instead, he is charged with counting them. (Former Vice President Al Gore, for example, had to certify the election that he lost while Joe Biden himself in 2016 certified the Donald Trump win against Hillary Clinton despite various Democrat lawmakers objection.)

States want to correct their votes, which they now know were based on irregularities and fraud, plus corrupt process never received legislative approval. All Mike Pence has to do is send them back to the States, AND WE WIN. Do it Mike, this is a time for extreme courage!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021

Under the Electoral College Act of 1887, it is up to Congress to settle any disputes about state certificates.

This is why the decision ultimately comes down to the Republican Senators and Congress members should they seek to overturn any results.

1887 Precedent?

It’s happened before.

In 1877, Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes won the election over Democrat Samuel Tilden, despite Tilden having the majority of electoral college votes. The Hayes win was the result of some backroom deals with lawmakers designed in an effort to prevent a resurgence in Civil War tensions.

Though President Trump’s legal efforts have been thwarted in federal courts–including the Supreme Court–a group of Republican Senators led by Ted Cruz, alongside numerous House Representatives, is still asking for a 10-day delay on the ratification of the electoral vote in order to determine the full authenticity of the votes.

According to a politico poll, 70% of Republicans did not see the election as free or fair in the aftermath of November 2020.

Nonetheless, the majority of Senators are refusing to go along with the Cruz movement. The President called them out on Tuesday, referring to some Senators, including Majority Leader McConnell, Senator John Cornyn and Senator John Thune as the “RINO section of the Republican Party.” RINO stands for Republican in name only.

With the Georgia runoffs seeming to give the Democrats full control of the Senate (the election is still deemed too close to call) the stakes couldn’t be higher.

What. A. Mess. It’s already been quite a week. And, it’s only Wednesday…