Washington Post | Vice President Mike Pence ignores questions on Flynn Washington Post February 13, 2017 4:52 PM EST - During a visit to Capitol Hill on Feb. 13, Vice President Mike Pence ignored questions from the press on whether he still trusts national security advisor Michael Flynn. (The Washington Post) ... |
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Vice President Mike Pence ignores questions on Flynn - Washington Post
Vice President Mike Pence and his team bring an entirely different ethos and set of values to the administration. | Getty
Pence and his team bring an entirely different ethos and set of values to the administration.
By Maggie Severns and Matthew Nussbaum
02/13/17 09:59 AM EST
Donald Trump never exactly fit the conservative mold a fact that has unnerved the GOPs true believers.
But as the Trump administration takes shape, Vice President Mike Pence has used his position atop the transition team and in the White House to install conservative allies throughout several agencies and at almost every level of government, giving the government a more orthodox cast.
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I think this whole administration is replete with social conservatives, said Peggy Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America, a Christian activist group, who was at the White House with other activists last week celebrating Trumps Supreme Court pick.
Pence and his team bring an entirely different ethos and set of values to the administration. The vice presidents emphasis on limited government and his conservative social views are distinct from the America First-style populism of Trump or top advisers like Steve Bannon, creating a divide that could influence policymaking on health care, education and social issues.
Members of Pences tight-knit inner circle, such as longtime aide Josh Pitcock, now Pences chief of staff, hold key positions both in Pences office and across the Trump administration. Ex-Hill aide Marc Short is the White Houses liaison to Congress, and Pence political advisers Nick Ayers and Marty Obst are helping to run Trumps new nonprofit political arm, which was created to boost the presidents agenda, and brought on Pences nephew, John Pence, as deputy executive director.
Vice Present Pence surrounds himself with true conservatives, said a former staffer from his days leading the GOP House Conference. He did when he was on the Hill, and again in Indiana. That some of them are now in the administration bolsters the case that conservative principles will significantly undergird the presidents agenda to change Washington.
Former employees interviewed by POLITICO describe Pence as a manager who values humility, self-discipline and employees who follow marching orders. Pences top aides tend to be deeply conservative and, like the vice president, evangelical Christians. Short and Ayers are devout church-goers. Pence also encourages staff to balance work with a focus on family, which stems from his deep faith.
For Pences political foes, the influx of Hoosiers to the Trump administration is troubling for precisely that reason. His term as governor was marked by clashes spurred by his conservatism, said Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody.
Critics said that his austerity measures led to severe understaffing at the states child protective services department, for instance. Pence also signed a controversial religious freedom bill that critics said allowed businesses to discriminate against gay people and which spurred blowback from companies that boycotted the state until he agreed to revise it.
Hes got some experience in government, unlike President Trump, Zody said. Some people look to him for that. But when youre being governed by an ideology that can cause problems.
All indications are that Pence will continue to push the conservative ideals that animate him. Last week, he helped circulate a religious freedom draft order in the White House that bore similarities to the law he had pushed in Indiana according to Family Research Council CEO Tony Perkins. Trumps daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner successfully pushed back on the effort to get the order signed.
And he is stocking HHS with allies who take a similar view of the Affordable Care Act. As a lawmaker, Pence opposed its passage, though he used it to expand Medicaid as governor and later, he railed against the law on the 2016 campaign trail.
Now, he and his inner circle are poised to play key parts in the fight for repeal. They include Indianas former Medicaid consultant, Seema Verma, now the presidents nominee to lead the agency that oversees Obamacare, Medicare and Medicaid within Health and Human Services. Verma pushed a conservative-friendly Medicaid expansion in Indiana, and if confirmed, would oversee implementation of an Obamacare replacement plan.
Tom Price, the presidents HHS secretary, is a Pence ally from the Hill.
Other Pence proteges include Brian Neale, who worked on health care in Indiana and is currently the agencys point person on Medicaid, as well as Matt Lloyd, former Pence deputy chief of staff from the governors mansion, now the agencys spokesman.
The heavy Hoosier presence in the administration is no coincidence: Since Pence assumed control of the transition from Gov. Chris Christie in November, his close advisers have tapped Hoosiers and aides to Indiana members of Congress to fill some of 4,000 political jobs in the administration.
Multiple people with ties to Indiana politics said they saw a flood of applicants send resumes to the Trump transition. That influx has slowed as agency heads have started taking control and hiring their preferred staff.
Two of the eight members of Trumps Domestic Policy Council have Indiana ties: Rob Goad, an aide to Rep. Luke Messer, is Trumps point person on education policy. JaRon Smith, who served under Pence when he led the House Republican Conference, leads urban affairs and revitalization.
And Ryan Jarmula who worked for Pence in both Washington and Indiana took on a role under Trump adviser Stephen Miller during the campaign and has since joined the White House in a policy and speech-writing advisory role.
Pences allies are also among those who will be called upon to sell the White Houses ideas to members of Congress and the public.
As the head of Trumps legislative affairs shop, Short will play a key role coordinating congressional and White House efforts to pass repeal-and-replace legislation. Lloyd will have the task of explaining the advantages of any Obamacare replacement to the public while minimizing political fallout.
Outside of government, Ayers and Obst at America First will help build public support for whatever path the administration chooses.
In addition, Pence will have a legislative team of his own a far cry from his early years on Capitol Hill, when he crossed the Republican establishment by opposing the expansion of Medicare Part D, as well as the passage of the ambitious education law called No Child Left Behind under then-President George W. Bush.
Jonathan Hiler, who has worked with Pence, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), is now leading the team and will coordinate closely with the White House side of the operation led by Short.
Even for those inside the government, of course, there is no guarantee of having Trumps ear: Former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats Trumps director of national intelligence was recently removed as a full member of the National Security Council, while Trump confidante Bannon was given a role.
And there are signs the Trump White House is sensitive to reports that Pence would run the show. Administration officials have taken to referring to Pence as an executor for Trumps plans, not an originator.
Asked recently for a statement ahead of Pences speech to Republican members of Congress in Philadelphia, Pences press secretary described the speech as focusing on excitement about the Presidents agenda moving forward.
Outside the administration, meanwhile, other Hoosiers are trading on their ties to Pence to boost business.
Former Pence chief of staff Bill Smith announced shortly after Trumps victory that he would open a Washington, D.C., branch of his Indiana lobbying firm. Smith is partnering with Fidelis Government Relations, whose clients include Microsoft and the Alliance for Israel Advocacy.
Also likely to benefit is the law and lobbying firm Barnes & Thornburg, based in Indiana with offices in Washington. Partner and former Pence counsel Matt Morgan recently left the firm to join the vice presidents office.
And partner Bob Grand, a longtime Pence donor, helped plan Trumps inauguration. Grand recently registered clients as a federal lobbyist after a long hiatus, among them gun maker Sig Sauer, in anticipation of doing more federal lobbying.
This is an administration thats going to be focused on getting a lot of things done, Grand said. We can help. Im obviously very loyal to Mike Pence, and hes a very loyal guy too. :
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Pence molds the government in his own image - Politico
A man who served ten years in prison after being wrongly convicted of armed robbery thanked Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Friday for granting him a pardon that had been denied to him by former governor Vice President Pence. (Reuters)
For nearly 20 years, Keith Cooper had been a felon a label wrongfully placed on him by the criminal justice system.
For the past three years, he had hoped and waited for Mike Pence touse his executive power as Indianas governor to issue a pardon, permanently removing that label and the stigma that goes along witha felony.
Pence (R) did notdo it before he left the governorship and became vice president. ButPences replacement, Gov. Eric Holcomb (R), just did. He issueda pardon Thursday for the 49-year-old Cooper, who was wrongfully convicted of armed robbery in 1997in Elkhart, Ind.,according to theIndianapolis Star.
I am very much at peace pardoning him, Holcomb saidat a news conference Thursday morning, adding, I believe he is innocent of that crime.
[Like a slap in the face: Mike Pence wont act on wrongfully convicted mans pardon request]
The governor said he waspardoning Coopers robbery conviction, but not a battery conviction.
After careful and thoughtful consideration and review something Ive thought about every day over the last month just earlier today I issued a pardon to Mr. Keith Cooper for his past and I believe wrongful armed robbery felony, Holcombsaid.I did so because since that conviction in 1997, many pieces of information that were out and about that had been brought forward since have changed, including a victim, an informant, even the deputy prosecutor who convicted Mr. Cooper on that first crime, all have stated support or no objection to a pardon.
Holcomb saida deputy prosecutor wrote a letter in support of Coopers pardon, and the judge whopresided over Coopers trial has said he hadno objection to a pardon.
Eyewitnesses who once helped convictCopper for the crime have since said they were wrong,the governorsaid.
And, Holcomb said, theIndiana Parole Board also unanimously recommended a pardon several years ago.
So its for all of these reasons and personally believing that Mr. Cooper has waited long enough and needs not endure any further uncertainty that I issue this pardon this morning for the robbery conviction only, not the battery conviction, the governor told reporters.
Cooper could not immediately be reached for comment. His attorney, Elliot Slosar, said in an email that Holcomb had provided justice and closure to all of the victims in this case. The Governor has exonerated Keith Cooper by issuing the first pardon based upon actual innocence in Indianas history.
[Mike Pence struggles to defend the indefensible]
Coopers complicated case began in January 1997, when he was arrested for attempted murder and armed robbery in a crime that had occurred in an apartment complex in Elkhart, a northern Indiana town about 100 miles southeast of Chicago. Police said Cooper and an accomplice, Christopher Parish, committed the crime. But Cooper said he and Parish had never met a claim he maintains to this day.
Similar to one of the real suspects, Cooper is a tall, thin black man. He was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Parish, who fit the description of the accomplice, was convicted and sentenced to 30 years,according to court documents.
Evidence of Coopersinnocence surfaced years later.That included new DNA evidence proving that ahat one of the armed robbers left at the crime scene belonged to someone else and not to Cooper. DNA from the hat was later traced to Johlanis Ervin, who matched Coopers physical description and who committed a murder in Michigan years after the Elkhart armed robbery, according to court documents.
The victims and eyewitnesses have since recanted their original statements about Cooper. They also accused the Elkhart police detective who investigated the case of manipulating them into identifying Cooper, court records show.
Cooper was released from prison in 2006, after spending nearly a decade behind bars.
He has been fighting for his good name ever since.
Last year,Coopers attorney filed a petition for post-conviction relief,arguing that an avalanche of new evidence entitled Cooper to a new trial. That includes DNA evidence, recantations from victims and witnesses and most recently, a crucial letter from the attorney who prosecuted Cooper in 1997.Michael Christofeno, a former Elkhart County deputy prosecutor, had written theletter to Pence, saying: Justice demands that Mr. Cooper be pardoned.We cannot undo the wrongful imprisonment of Mr. Cooper, but we can undo his wrongful conviction with a pardon,according to the IndyStar.
Coopers attorney said that would be enough to get a pardon but it was not.
Inthe letter explaining Pences decision, his general counsel wrote thatbecause ofCoopers extraordinary request, the judicial process would need to run its course before the governor could step in.
Normally, people seeking gubernatorial pardons are those who committed crimes and have shown exemplary behavior following their conviction. Cooper, according to the governors office, was the first man in Indiana to seek a pardon because hes innocent.
Holcomb was sworn in Jan. 9 and issued the pardon exactly a month after taking office.
We are elated that in four short weeks Governor Holcomb was able to provide justice for Keith Cooper and the other victims, Slosar, the attorney, said in his email. The swift action by Governor Holcomb proves that the four years of inaction by former Governor Pence was unnecessary and disgraceful.
Read more:
Mike Pence cant believe Tim Kaine would insult Donald Trump by quoting him
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Fact-checking the vice-presidential debate between Kaine and Pence
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Mike Pence didn't act on a wrongfully convicted man's pardon request. But the new governor did. - Washington Post
President Donald Trump stood just to his vice presidents right as Mike Pence delivered a ceremonial oath of office to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The same scene played out eight days later as Pence officially swore in Attorney General Jeff Sessionson Thursday.
One of Pences most regular duties, three weeks into the Trump administrations tenure, is introducing his boss before public remarks. Almost as often, though, Pence is the oath-administrant in chief.
The White House, on both occasions, announced beforehand that the president would merely participate in the Oval Office swearing-in ceremonies. Both times, Trump delivered remarks, with his main task appearing to be assuring the world that Tillerson and Sessions would respectively remake global diplomacy and domestic law enforcement.
As his second in commandadministered the oath to Tillerson, Trump, who had just spent hours at Dover Air Force Base with the family of the first U.S. service memberkilled under his watch, stared downward, his mind seemingly elsewhere. While Pence delivered the oath to Sessions, Trumps head swiveled back and forth as both men spoke.
[Trump Lashes Out at Blumenthal Over Gorsuch Comments]
In fact, the vice president has carried out the ceremonial or official oath duties for all eight of Trumps Cabinet members shortly after they have been confirmed by the Senate.
Like with Tillerson and Sessions, Trump stood nearby at the Pentagon when his No. 2 swore in James Mattis as Defense secretary. Each Cabinet member then spoke from a podium affixed with the mostly blue presidential seal.
Pence did the honors solo for Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Those five had to settle for the white vice presidential seal on the podium.
Several presidential scholars acknowledged that it seems Pence is swearing in high-level officials at a fast clip, but they said it is standard vice presidentialbusiness.
The vice president serving as oath-giver is not new to the Trump administration.
For instance, when it was time to swear in Hillary Clinton as secretary of State in early 2009, the still-new Obama administration had Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. do the honors. The same was true that year when it was time for Eric H. Holder Jr. to state his intention to uphold and defend the Constitution as the attorney general.
The practice was also common during Obamas second term, with Biden swearing in Holders successor, Loretta Lynch. The 47th vice president did the honors again in the Oval Office with Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew, though Obama, like Trump recently, stood nearby.
But, unlike Trump during his first three weeks, Obama sometimes administered oaths of office. In April 2009, for instance, the 44th president did so after his final Cabinet member, Kathleen Sebelius at Health and Human Services, was confirmed.
[Trump Suggests Courts Mulling His Travel Ban are Biased]
Several Republicansenators said there wasno reason to think any of the secretaries would like a distance from their bombastic boss.
Weve all expected that the vice president would have an active role, said Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. I think its part of that.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Pence taking the lead on the oaths is probably just the role the vice president plays, other reasons have to do with logistics we all want them to be sworn in as quickly as possible.
Nah, I dont buy it, Tillis said when asked if he believes any Cabinet member might prefer a picture with Pence rather than Trump. They were his nominees. Hes the one who put them forward.
Top Democrats also say vice presidentshave performed the task for years.
Senate Armed Services ranking member Jack Reed of Rhode Island said he can recall some being sworn in by the general counsel of their department.
Ive seen vice presidents do it before, said Appropriations ranking member Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, who has been in the Senate since the Ford administration (1975). I can remember Vice President [George H.W.] Bush, Vice President [Walter] Mondale, all the vice presidents, doing this. If they wanted distance, they wouldnt have accepted the nomination.
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Mike Pence Is the Oath-Administrant in Chief - Roll Call
Vice President Mike Pence's move received waves of applause through the cavernous dining hall, per a pool report. | Getty
By Henry C. Jackson
02/09/17 08:59 PM EST
Vice President Mike Pence traveled to West Point today to give a speech at an awards dinner -- and he led off by granting amnesty to the assembled cadets.
Pence delivered a 20-minute speech on Thursday night, per a White House pool report, touching on the administrations efforts to stop ISIS. Pence spoke at a mess hall honoring Henry O. Flipper, a former slave who was the first African-American to graduate from the academy.
Before he got going, though, Pence used his executive authority to grant amnesty for minor offenses to the cadets. It was a crowd pleasing gesture, met with waves of applause through the cavernous dining hall, per the pool report.
Pence also received big cheers when he mentioned President Donald Trump, and the administrations push against ISIS.
Make no mistake about it: President Trump and this administration and this country will not rest until these enemies are destroyed and our nation is safe again, Pence said.
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Pence grants cadets amnesty - Politico (blog)