Mike Pence welcomes Republican senators’ attempt to overturn US election

Mike Pence says he ‘welcomes’ Republican senators’ attempts to overturn the US election.

Ted Cruz is among 12 GOP senators who say they are preparing to challenge the results of the election in a joint session of Congress next week.

Mr Cruz is part of a group of 11 politicians who say they will not certify the election results unless there is a 10-day “emergency audit” of the results, in support of Donald Trump.

The outgoing president has refused to concede the election and made a string of false and debunked claims about election fraud in battleground states.

These false claims have been universally rejected by election officials and judges across the country, and Mr Trump and his backers have not provided any credible evidence to back their discredited claims.

“Vice President Pence shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities in the last election," said Mr Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short.

“The Vice President welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people on 6 January.”