Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley both objected to the vote count -- no, the VP can't change the vote count, but he should have considered and addressed the objections by Cruz and Hawley. Of course, that was right around the time that the insurrectionists stormed into the Senate. Their objections weren't take up afterwards; Pence then certified the election.
NO NO NO NO NO. That is
false. It is a
lie.
Damn this is frustrating.
I had this exact same conversation with you on this topic a few weeks back. The Hawley and Cruz objections
were heard that evening when Congress reconvened. They were debated, and then voted upon. I posted the articles, the vote totals, and the link to the official vote tallies on those two objections. The objections were heard, debated, and voted upon by Congress on the evening of January 6, very early morning of January 7. The votes were not certified until after that. That is an historical fact.
There
were some media reports on the afternoon of January 6 that the objections would not be heard, and the election just certified. I remember watching that chryon scrolling on the TV that afternoon and thinking that was a bad idea.
But either that initial report was an error, or Congress/Pence reconsidered later in the day, because the objections were made, debated, and voted upon separately by both the House and Senate.
I'm not sure what group is out there pushing the lie that it didn't happen, but they are simply lying. Don't take my word for it - you can literally watch the Senate debate and vote on Senator Cruz's Arizona vote on C-Span right here. First, the part of the debate before adjournment because of the riot, with Pence himself presiding:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?507698-2/senate-debate-arizona-electoral-college-vote-challenge-part-1And then the Senate returning to the chamber after the riot,.continuing the debate, and then voting on Cruz's Arizona objection. Once again, Pence actually presiding at the exact event you claim he prevented from occuring.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?507698-5/senate-debate-arizona-electoral-college-vote-challenge-part-2And then the vote on Hawley's Pennsylvania objections, again with Mike Pence presiding.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?507698-101/senate-debate-pennsylvania-electoral-college-vote-challengeThe claim that the election objections were not taken up after the riot is simply false. You can literally watch the post-riot debate and vote on the objections yourself in the above links.