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THE TAKE with ABC News' Rick Klein

You can take the man out of the palace, but you can't keep the intrigue away. In a White House rocked by departures, loyalty oaths are popping from unlikely places. The vice president followed the attorney general in stating fealty to the president, and even the president found it necessary to side publicly with his national security adviser as a "good man" with whom he works well. (President Trump also sought to prove that, with the Oval Office empty for a while, he was working through the weekend: "This is not a vacation meetings and calls!" tweeted the man spotted back on the golf course.) Perhaps Vice President Mike Pence isn't coveting the presidency and hates "fake news," and Attorney General Jeff Sessions wasn't worried about being fired if he didn't go after leakers, and Trump just wanted to give a shout-out to H.R. McMaster. Or it may be that, in a White House that's now being cleaned, fears abound that the housecleaning isn't done.

TWO GOP SENATORS GREETED WITH THANKS

Resist...and recognize? Lawmakers are home again for recess and opposition groups are revved up and raring to meet them. But there seems to be a new goal for activist groups this summer: saying thanks where thanks is due. Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were greeted at airports in their home states with applause from constituents thanking them for their votes against Republican health care bill. Major groups from Planned Parenthood to the AARP spent money in the last week on ads praising the two female senators. The Women's March and other groups on the left wrote social media posts thanking and urging their followers to call Collins' and Murkowski's offices and personally convey their gratitude, ABC News' MaryAlice Parks reports.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It is absolutely true the vice president is getting ready for 2020 -- for reelection as vice president," Kellyanne Conway on "This Week."

NEED TO READ with ABC News' Daksha Sthipam

Vacationing Trump greets wedding guests at his New Jersey golf club. Guests attending a wedding Saturday at Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey bumped into one of the club's most notable members: President Trump, who is spending his 17-day working vacation at the Bedminster property. The president's selfies in the wedding come at odds with his tweet on Saturday, stressing that his vacation was "not a vacation" and filled with "meetings and calls." http://abcn.ws/2v8PVaT

Republican senator unsure he agrees with Trump that Russia probe is "witch hunt." Sen. Tom Tillis, R-N.C., said on ABC News' "This Week" that he is not sure he agrees with President Donald Trump's dismissal of the Russia investigation. "I'm not sure that I agree with the witch hunt, and we'll let the facts lead us to whether or not it was a hoax," Tillis said. http://abcn.ws/2vCNEW6

ANALYSIS: Trump's crackdown on "leaks" could hide important truths. Now we are in even more dangerous territory with President Trump and Attorney General Sessions announcing a new concerted effort to crack down on leakers. http://abcn.ws/2vD2onZ

The Mooch's replacement could be Stephen Miller. Axios

Under Trump, Coal Mining Gets New Life on U.S. Lands. The New York Times

Controversial appointment clouds US Senate race in Alabama. Associated Press

McConnell on health care failure: "Feel better, Hillary Clinton could be president." The Hill

Op-ed: Mueller's investigation of Trump is going too far. CNN

The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.

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The Note: Pence bats down 2020 talk and pledges loyalty - ABC News

"Today's article in The New York Times is disgraceful and offensive to me, my family, and our entire team," Pence's statement read.

The statement went on to say the suggestion that Pence was not working solely for Trump's agenda and re-election was "laughable and absurd."

The vice president's decision to rebut the story Sunday through an official written statement rather than verbally or through a spokesperson was a rare move from a high-ranking administration official.

The Times' report noted Pence's aggressive political schedule and fund-raising operation and said multiple advisers told donors that Pence would run for president if Trump did not.

Trump has said repeatedly that he intends to be a two-term president and has held several campaign events in advance of the 2020 election.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway also pushed back on the Times' report in an appearance on ABC's "This Week."

"I want to make a remark about Vice President Pence," Conway said. "I've worked with him for 10 years as his pollster, as a senior adviser, and certainly work with him daily in the White House. It is absolutely true that the vice president is getting ready for 2020 -- for reelection as vice president."

"His approval rating among Republicans and conservatives and Trump voters is down slightly," Conway said. "It needs to go up."

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Mike Pence pushes back on report he's planning for ...

Aaron Carter attends Fashion Tails - Adopt A New Attitude at Lombardi House on October 6, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)Rodin EckenrothGetty Images

Happy Sunday! Here are the weekend's top stories:

Fox News co-host Eric Bolling was suspended from the network Saturday following a report in the Huffington Post that he had sent a lewd photo to at least three of his female colleagues. Bolling's attorney told the Associated Press the allegations are uncorroborated.

The vice president issued a strong denial of a report in the New York Times that he was quietly laying the groundwork for a possible presidential run in 2020, even though President Donald Trump has not given any indication he won't seek a second term. Pence called the report "laughable and absurd."

Pop singer Aaron Carter wrote on Twitter that he is attracted to both males and females, something he discovered about himself at the age of 13. "This doesn't bring me shame, just a weight and burden I have held onto for a long time that I would like lifted off me," Carter wrote in the emotional post.

Also:

A document from a Google engineer arguing that women are less effective programmers than men has gone viral within the company.

Just 10 states will get a good view of the solar eclipse on Aug. 21.

A heat wave named Lucifer has killed at least two people in Europe .

President Donald Trump surprised some wedding guests while vacationing at his golf club in Bedminster Township, New Jersey.

More here:
The Weekend Brief: Mike Pence Denies 2020 Bid, Fox News Suspends Host, Aaron Carter Talks Sexuality - TIME

In one June meeting, an aide to the vice president, Marty Obst, said Mr. Pences team wanted to be prepared to run in case there was an opening in 2020, according to a Republican briefed on the meeting. Nick Ayers, the vice presidents new chief of staff, has signaled to major Republican donors that Mr. Pence wants to be ready, the article reported.

The article quoted Mr. Obst denying that he and Mr. Ayers had made any private insinuations. He also called suggestions that the vice president was positioning himself for 2020 beyond ridiculous.

Mr. Pence has set up a political fund-raising organization, Great America Committee, and has hosted key figures at the vice presidents mansion, like Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and representatives of Charles G. and David H. Koch, the billionaire conservative financiers. Last month, the vice president hosted Kelly and Joe Craft, coal barons from Kentucky.

A top White House official said Sunday that there would be no reason for the vice president to prepare his own White House bid because Mr. Trump planned to run. The president says privately and publicly often, George, that hell be there for seven and a half more years. So he plans on being a two-term president, Kellyanne Conway, the presidents counselor, told George Stephanopoulos on This Week on ABC. It is absolutely true that the vice president is getting ready for 2020, for re-election as vice president.

Mr. Stephanopoulos asked if there was any concern that Mr. Pence was running a shadow campaign. Zero concern, Ms. Conway said. That is complete fiction. That is complete fabrication. And I know that his advisers who had comments attributed to them have pushed back strongly, as has the vice president. And as am I right now unequivocally.

She added: Vice President Pence is a very loyal, very dutiful, but also incredibly effective vice president, and active vice president, with this president.

Other Republicans who have been making trips to key states or otherwise introducing themselves to donors that have raised speculation about their plans include Gov. John Kasich of Ohio and Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ben Sasse of Nebraska. Nikki R. Haley, the ambassador to the United Nations, put her longtime pollster on the payroll and has become better acquainted with New York financiers.

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Mike Pence Rejects Report That He Is Positioning for 2020 - New York Times

Vice President Mike Pence reaffirmed his party's intentions to repeal and replace Obamacare Friday night, telling a group of conservative students in Washington, D.C. that the endeavor "ain't over by a long shot."

"My fellow conservatives, let me be clear. This ain't over. This ain't over by a long shot," Pence told attendees of the National Conservative Student Conference, hosted by the Young America Foundation, according to CNN. "And President Trump and I are absolutely committed to keep our promise to the American people. We were not elected to save Obamacare we were elected to repeal and replace it."

More than a week prior to Pence's speech, the Republican-led effort to repeal the health care policy collapsed in the Senate after three GOP lawmakers Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and John McCain of Arizona voted against their party's proposal.

The Senate has since left the chamber for its August recess , but Pence maintained that the legislative body was merely one vote away from repealing the Affordable Care Act.

"Last week it was clear that the Senate wasn't quite ready to keep that promise to the American people when they fell one vote short of moving forward on a bill to repeal and replace this disastrous policy," Pence said.

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Mike Pence on Health Care: 'This Ain't Over by a Long Shot' - TIME