Pressure On Mike Pence To Block Electoral Certification

Following the 2020 presidential election, then-President Donald Trump repeatedly and publicly pressured Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to certify the Electoral College results on January 6, 2021, despite the Constitution making clear that the vice president has no authority to alter electoral outcomes. Trump’s efforts included personal phone calls, public statements, and a rally speech urging Pence to take actions that would have subverted the lawful certification process.

In the hours before Congress’s joint session to count electoral votes, Trump repeatedly called and messaged Pence to persuade him to reject or delay certification of Joe Biden’s victory. According to later reporting and released notes from Pence’s final phone call with Trump that morning, Trump told Pence that refusing to take Trump’s desired actions would make Pence “go down as a wimp” and suggested he had made a mistake choosing him as his running mate. Pence responded that it takes courage to uphold the Constitution and that he lacked legal authority to block certification, a position consistent with constitutional scholars and Supreme Court precedent.

During the January 6 rally, Trump had also altered his planned speech to put additional pressure on Pence, and in the ensuing riot, some in the crowd chanted threats against the vice president, including “hang Mike Pence!” as rioters breached the U.S. Capitol and searched for him.

While the exact tone and wording of every exchange remain matters of public and legal record, multiple accounts — including Pence’s own statements and reporting based on handwritten notes — make clear that Trump’s actions that day included intense personal pressure on Pence to take a constitutionally unsupported action.

How the Laws May Apply

18 U.S.C. § 371 — Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
Coordinated efforts to persuade the vice president to interfere with a congressional proceeding to certify electoral votes may constitute a conspiracy to interfere with federal functions.

18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) — Obstruction of an Official Proceeding
Pressuring or attempting to induce someone to use false pretenses to block or delay a federal proceeding — here, Congress’s certification of electoral votes — may qualify as obstruction of an official proceeding.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6_United_States_Capitol_attack
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/26/trump-pence-wimp-jan-6/
https://people.com/mike-pence-personal-notes-donald-trump-insult-11837336