Appeals court upholds dismissal of Gohmert's lawsuit challenging 2020 election results

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a federal judge's order dismissing Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert's lawsuit that attempted to give Vice President Mike Pence the ability to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. 

"We need say no more, and we affirm the judgment essentially for the reasons stated by the district court," the three-judge panel wrote. 

It comes less than 24 hours after a President Trump appointee, U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Kernodle, ruled that Gohmert and the Republican electors lacked standing because they "allege an injury that is not fairly traceable to the Defendant, the Vice President of the United States, and is unlikely to be redressed by the requested relief."

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Pence, represented by the Justice Department in the case, urged the court to dismiss the lawsuit Thursday, arguing that Gohmert sued the wrong person. 

On Jan. 6, Pence will preside over a congressional proceeding in which the electoral results are unsealed and counted. 

It's the final step in declaring Biden the winner of the presidential election after he won the Electoral College, 306-232, officially Dec. 14. 

It will be an awkward position for Pence, given that Trump has not conceded defeat, and the vice president has not yet indicated what he will do. 

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Gohmert's lawsuit is the latest of about 50 attempts by President Trump and his allies to challenge the election results, almost all of which have failed. 

Some congressional Republicans have said they will contest the electors  Jan. 6, but that attempt will almost certainly fail as the House is controlled by Democrats and multiple Senate Republicans already have acknowledged Biden's victory in the election. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.