House Republican lawmakers applauded former Vice President Mike Pence for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, giving him a warm reception as he spoke to members of the conservative Republican Study Committee on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) thanked Pence for showing courage that day, sources in the room said.
“He was congratulated for showing the courage that he did on January 6, and frankly, everyone in the room clapped, myself included,” said Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.). “It was, of course, what he should have done. I mean, it was the constitutional thing to do.”
Pence’s ceremonial role presiding over the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 to certify the Electoral College count from the 2020 election cemented President Biden’s win.
Then-President Trump had pressured Pence to unilaterally reject Electoral College votes from certain states that Biden won so that Trump would be found the winner. Trump had falsely claimed there was mass fraud in several states that led to his legitimate loss.
On Jan. 6, 147 lawmakers voted to object to the electoral results, including many members of the Republican Study Committee and its chair, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.). At the time, Roy argued against objecting to the votes.
The topic of the 2024 presidential election came up in the meeting, Meuser said, but added that Pence’s focus was on the 2022 elections.
Pence spoke about his “Freedom Agenda” policy platform, distributing paper copies of it to members in attendance, and praised the House GOP for having a plan for after the midterms. He urged members to be specific about their policy proposals ahead of the midterms, a source in the room said.
Asked whether Trump was mentioned at all in the meeting, Meuser said, “not really.”
Marc Short, former chief of staff to Pence, was also in attendance.