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Vice President Mike Pence today announced the appointment of Jarrod Agen as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Communications to the Vice President.

"Jarrods experience at both the state and federal level brings an unmatched perspective to our office," said Vice President Pence. "Having worked on the ground in several states throughout our country, he mixes an outside-of-Washington approach with high-level federal experience."

Agen has over 15 years of unique experience in federal and state government, media relations, international affairs and conservative politics throughout several states. At the federal level, Agen served as Deputy Press Secretary and Associate Director of Strategic Communications at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, handling communications for a wide range of issues including natural disasters, immigration, border security and counter-terrorism. Agen has also served at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of State, where he worked on the planning and implementation of the 2004 G8 Summit.

Last January, Agen was promoted from Communications Director to Chief of Staff for Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan, taking the Chief of Staff role one day before the state declared an emergency in the Flint water crisis. Over the past year, Agen helped manage the state through one of the most complex crises in America, overseeing the emergency response, communications, and the recovery efforts for Flint.

Agen previously served in communications roles for Mayor Rudy Giuliani in New York, Sharron Angle in Nevada, and Steve Poizner in California. Agen started his career working for MSNBC, working for the news network throughout the 2000 Presidential Election and the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

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Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump's choice for U.S. education secretary, faces strong opposition. Now U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., says he won't support her nomination. (Dwight Adams/IndyStar) Wochit

That didnt take long.

Vice President Pence may soon get to cast his first tie-breaking vote in the Senate.

Two Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced Wednesday they will vote against the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as education secretary.

If the 50 other Senate Republicans vote for DeVos, and the 46 Democrats and two independents who caucus with them oppose her, the Senate would split 50-50.

The vice president gets to break any ties.

Vice President Biden never got that chance. Nor did the last Hoosier vice president, Dan Quayle.

Vice President Cheney, however, broke eight ties.

Pence would likely get particular pleasure in voting for DeVos, a Michigan philanthropist and staunch voucher advocate who played an influential role in developing Indianas largest-in-the-nation private school voucher program.

As governor, Mike Pence strongly advocated for education reforms, overseeing a vast expansion of the states private school voucher program and a boost in funding for charter schools.

DeVos poured $1.7 million into Indiana from 2012-14, with the grant money mostly benefiting a school choice network.

The DeVos family and affiliated organizations have also contributed $2.5 million to Hoosier politicians since 2004, including $95,000 last year to Gov. Eric Holcomb, Pences chosen successor.Pences gubernatorial campaign received at least $15,000.

In announcing their opposition to DeVos, Collins and Murkowski questioned both her experience and commitment to public schools.

Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., voted Tuesday to advance DeVos nomination to the Senate floor.

Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., has said he will oppose her confirmation.

A floor vote has not been scheduled.

IndyStar reporters Stephanie Wang and Chelsea Schneider contributed.

Contact Maureen Groppe at mgroppe@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @mgroppe.

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Here are some things you might not know about Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, as Donald Trump makes his choice for vice president. For instance, Pence, a born-again evangelical, was raised a Catholic and idolized John F. Kennedy. (Dwight Adams/IndyStar Wochit

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence speaks during the Indiana Republican Party Spring Dinner April 21 in Indianapolis.(Photo: Darron Cummings, AP)

This story was originally published on July 15, 2016.

On Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence will take the oath of office to become Donald Trump's vice president.

Whetheryour reaction to the news was "Mike Who?" or you just need a refresher on his two-plusdecades inpolitics, here's what you should know about the 50th governor of Indiana.

Pence has long said his approach togoverning is informed not by party, but by his faith and his love of the Constitution.

He's staunchly anti-abortion rights, and while in Congress heled the federal government to the brink of shutdown in 2011 in a failedattempt to de-fundPlanned Parenthood.

A born-again evangelical Christian, Pencehas also been a strong proponent of religious freedom, and believes marriageshould bebetween a man and a woman.

In addition to his faith, his views on governancewere strongly influenced by Russell Kirk, a fountainheadof modernconservative thought,who wrote "The Conservative Mind."

"The conservative is animated by the principle of driving toward the ideal of solutions that are grounded in economic freedom and individual liberty, but also understanding that compromise is part of the conservative approach to governance," Pence told IndyStar in a 2015 interview,referring to Kirk's philosophy. "I don't believe in compromising principles, but I do believe in finding a way forward on the basis of authentic common ground."

(Photo: Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar)

Pence and his five siblings grew up inColumbus, Ind., in a family of devout Catholic churchgoers. His parents weren't especially political, he told IndyStar in a 2012 profile, but as a young man, figures likeJohn F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. inspired him to get involved in politics.

He volunteered for the Bartholomew County Democratic Party in 1976 and voted for Jimmy Carter in 1980.

It wasn't until college, when he met his future wife, Karen,at an evangelical church that he became a born-again Christian. A history major at Hanover College,Pence said hispolitical views, too,began to shift.

"I started to identify with that kind of common-sense conservatism of Ronald Reagan,"Pence told the IndyStar, "and before I knew it, I decided I was a Republican and moved up here in Indianapolis in 1983 to go to law school."

(Photo: Star file photo)

In the U.S.House of Representatives,Pence's championing of conservative social issuesgained him the most attention, but he also fought to shrink the size of government, showing a willingness to buck party leadership to do so.

As a freshman in 2001, he opposed the No Child Left Behind policy supported by President George W. Bush, a fellow Republican. That law seeks to raise student performance and increase accountability for educators. Pence calls it an unfunded mandate that grew government.

During Pence's second year in office, he opposed another GOP-favored initiative: the Medicare prescription drug expansion.

In later years, he persuadedRepublicans to cut spending in the federal budget before approving money for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in 2005. He also opposed the bank bailout in 2008, leading to Congress abandoning a plan to buy financial institutions' most toxic assets.

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Over the objections of the business community and LGBT rights groups, Pence in 2015 signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, setting off the biggest controversy of his political career.

Proponentssaid RFRA was needed to add another layer of protection for exercising one's religious beliefs free of government intrusion. The law in essenceprohibitedthe government fromintrudingon a person's religious liberty unless it could prove a compelling interest in imposing that burden and do so in the least restrictive way.

Opponents, however, feared it could be used to discriminate against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender peoplein the name of religion. Legal experts said it could have allowed people to raise religious freedom objectionstoexisting human rights ordinances that extend anti-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The bill's passage sparked a national firestorm.National media outlets swarmed Indiana,and major employers and conventions threatenedto boycott the state. There was even an unsuccessful movement torelocate theNCAA Men's Final Four, which was held in Indianapolis less than two weekslater.

The weekend following thebill signing, Pence attempted to defend RFRA and pour water on the fire. Instead, he may have only fueledit.

In a nationally televised interview,ABC's GeorgeStephanopoulos asked Pence six times whether the new law would allow a business to discriminate against gay couples.Six times,Pence ducked the question.

"This is where this debate has gone, with misinformation," Pence said. "We've been doing our level best, George, to correct the gross mischaracterization of this law that has been spread all over the country by many in the media and the online attacks against the people of our state. I'm just not going to stand for it."

The interview was widely criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike, who said he didn't do enough to dispelthe idea that Indiana was intolerant of the LGBT community.

(Photo: Robert Scheer / The Star)

Shortly after its passage, the Indiana General Assembly passed a so-called "fix," which Pence signed into law. ItpreventsRFRA from eroding local human rights protections. That, too, drew criticism, this time much of it from the right: TheIndiana Pastors Alliance said they felt "betrayed" by Pence and lawmakers for tweakingthe original law.

In some ways, Indiana was the first major battleground for the religious freedom movement. Subsequently,Mississippi and North Carolina passed even stronger religious freedom protections, leading to similar outcry, but so far, neither state has backtracked.

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

Gov. Mike Pence signs RFRA fix

Then-Rep. Pence's proposal would have createda temporary guest-worker program that would require illegal immigrants to leave the country before they could enroll. Butit went nowhere in the House, and angered many Republicans.

Pence has said his views on immigration were informed by his family's own experience.His grandfather, Richard Michael Cawley, was a Chicago bus driver who immigrated to the United States from Ireland through Ellis Island in the early 1900s.

As governor, he recalled speaking to President George W. Bush in 2006 about the reform proposal."I said, 'We're a nation of immigrants. I don't just get it. I lived it.'"

On other immigration matters, his stances have more closely aligned with his fellow conservatives.

In 2014, he joined a multi-state lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's executive order that would have protected5 million undocumented immigrants from being deported. A deadlocked Supreme Court this year blocked the order from taking effect.

More recently, he opposed settling Syrian refugees in Indiana, joining at least 22 other governorsafter reports suggested one of the Paris bombers may have posed as a Syrian refugee to enter France.

Pence's polite demeanor would strike a stark contrast with that of Trump, who likes to give his opponents names such asCrooked Hillaryand Lyin' Ted.

But in his first two campaigns for office in 1988 and 1990, Pence did go negative something he later said he regretted.

In a commercial described at the time as the most negative in Indiana history, an actor dressed as a sheik thanked Pence's opponent, former U.S. Rep. Phil Sharp, for the U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Afterward he wrote anessay entitled "Confessions of a Negative Campaigner," in which he denounced his own actions.

"I think negative personal attacks have no place in elective politics, Pence said during his run for governor in 2012. I just think, as I wrote back in 1991, that negative campaigning I now know is wrong. It's wrong to use one's brief moment in a political debate to talk about what's wrong with your opponent, as opposed to what's right with your ideas.

Of course, a tightre-election fight this year has challenged his ability to stick to that principle.

Pence assured a crowd of party insiders at the Indiana Republican Party's Spring Dinner last year that he was readyfor a fight, and promised a different sort of campaign than they'd seen from him in the past.

(Photo: Michelle Pemberton / Indy Star)

Internal documents obtained by IndyStar in 2015 showedPence's administration had developed plans to starta state-run taxpayer-funded news outlet that would make pre-written news stories available to Indiana media, as well as sometimes break news about his administration.

The plan quickly became the object of ridicule across the nation, drawing comparisons to state-run media in countries such as North Korea and China. Oneoutletdubbed the Pence news service "Pravda on the Plains."

Within the week, Pence killed the idea, saying plans for theJustIN website would be replaced with an overhaulof the state's online press release system.

Prior to the "Pravda on the Plains" misstep,Pence was long seen as a friend to the press on Capitol Hill. He was widely regarded as accessible and friendly by the D.C.press corps.He alsointroduced a bill that would have made it harder to subpoena reporters.

As governor, he vetoed bills that criticssaid would have limited access to public records. One, vetoed this year,would havepermitted private colleges and universities to withhold records incases that involved accidents, complaints and suspected crimes without arrests. The other, from 2015, would have allowed public agencies to charge hourly fees for record searches.

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

Gov. Pence ditches state-run news site plan after uproar

Under Pence's watch, Indiana has routinely appearedamong the top 10 states for having a "business-friendly" climate, thanks in large part to the state's low corporate taxes.

A 2013 study showed Indiana businesses have the 7th lowest tax burden in the nation, and it's likely droppedsince then.In 2014, he signed a bill reducingthe corporate income tax to 4.9 percent from 6.5 percent by 2021, making it the second-lowest in the country. And he's proposed even further cuts to business taxes, pressing lawmakers tophaseout the business personal property tax entirely.

With this bill, we give counties the opportunity to incentivize additional investment in new technology and heavy equipment, Pence said at the time. We make it easier for companies to expand and create jobs here in Indiana.

The unemployment rate has fallen from 8.4 percent when he took office in 2013, toaround5 percent today, though critics complain that wages remain below the national average.

The state also has a AAA bond rating,something Pence frequently touts on the campaign trail as evidence of his fiscal prowess.

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

Study: Indiana has a light bite in business taxes

In January 2015, after months of wrangling withthe Obama administration, Pence won approval to expand Indiana's own brand of Medicaid that injects personal responsibility into the healthcare program for the poor.

Pence said the Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0, a revamped version of a program started by then-Gov. Mitch Daniels, wentbeyond standard Medicaid expansion by requiring that participants contribute to the cost of their care.

"I believe Medicaid is not a program we should expand. It's a program that we should reform and that's exactly what we're accomplishing," Pence said at the time. "HIP 2.0 is not intended to be a long-term entitlement program. It's intended to be a safety net that aligns incentives with human aspirations."

With the approval, Indiana became the 28th state to expand Medicaid, along with the District of Columbia, and the fifth to receive a waiver.But none of the other states' programs go quite as far as Indiana when it comes to pushing the personal responsibility piece, experts said.

The expansion was expected to make as many as 350,000 low-income Hoosiers eligible for new benefits.

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

Gov. Pence gets federal OK for Medicaid alternative

Although Indiana is a redstate Republicans control both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly by wide margins Pence was facinga closerace against Democratic opponentJohn Gregg this November if he didn't join Trump's ticket.

(Photo: IndyStar 2013 file photo)

The race would have beena rematch of 4 years ago, when Pence narrowly defeated Gregg by 3 percentage points. But the RFRA controversy alienated many moderates, driving Pence's negatives up. A poll taken inlate 2015, six months after RFRA,showed just47 percent of Hoosier residents approved of Pences performance a big drop compared to Pences approval rating of 62 percent in the same poll a year earlier.

Two polls taken this spring gave Pence a 4-point edge over Gregg, a slim gap that fell within the polls' margins of error.

Pet rabbit "Marlon Bundo," is carried off the plane of Vice president-elect Mike Pence as he arrives with his wife Karen Pence and daughter Charlotte Pence, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)(Photo: Alex Brandon, AP)

Joining the Pence family as they madetheir move to Washington, D.C., were twocats named Oreo and Pickle and ablack-and-white rabbit named Marlon Bundo.

Yes, Marlon Bundo.

Pencetweeted a photoof the family with the pets mid-air, thanking the U.S. Air Force for the ride. Bundo's eyesseemed wide with excitement, while the cats seemed more casual about the experience.

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

Latest poll: Race for governor remains tight

IndyStar reporters Chris Sikich, Amy Bartner and Tony Cook contributed to this report.Call IndyStar reporter Brian Eason at (317) 444-6129. Follow him on Twitter: @brianeason.

A look back at Gov. Mike Pence's term Clark Wade/IndyStar

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Who is Mike Pence? 8 things to know about Donald Trump's vice ...

Thursday evening, Vice President Mike Pence invited a group of March for Life leaders and allies to the White House for a last minute, private reception.

It was informal, almost familialthe thirty people gathered in Pences ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building have known one another for years, all working together to fight Americas abortion policies. For many, the moment was emotional, and as they greeted one another, they shared a running joke: How long it has it been since you have been in here?

For about an hour, over petit fours and coffee, they celebrated their success in getting this Administration to the White House and their hope that policy will turn in their favor.

That was a first for me for sure, Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, says. Ive met the vice president before, but I thought I would have to remind him of my name. Instead, Pence knew exactly who she was, and he recognized her and others to thank them for their work.

Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway joined, as did Pences wife Karen and their daughter Charlotte. Other groups represented included Susan B. Anthonys List, the Knights of Columbus, Students for Life, Care Net, Heartbeat International and Focus on the Family, Mancini says. Pence told the group how his calling to public office, she adds, had to do with respect for the human person, helping to protect life and that now he is grateful to come to this position to continue to serve in that capacity and to have more influence.

The moment, on the eve of the 43rd March for Life, was another sign that the anti-abortion movements political strength has reached its highest level since Roe v. Wade . On Friday, Pence, who has spoken to the group before, will join the march in person as vice president. Until now, no sitting vice president or president has ever attended. President Trump was expected to call the group via phone, as did presidents Ronald Reagan and both presidents Bush. Conway will also speak.

The fact that the Vice President of the United States is supporting the March for life is deeply meaningful, says Charmaine Yoest, senior fellow at American Values, who was also present Thursday evening. We began the week with the President reinstating the Mexico City policy , the next day the House passed a measure to make Hyde Amendment permanent, and now the week ends with the vice president speaking to the March for Life, and then looking forward to the president naming his Supreme Court nominee next week, it is a remarkable start to this Administration.

For Trump, the alliance is politically expedient. Social conservatives, especially white evangelicals, overwhelmingly helped to put him in office . Naming Pence as his vice president, with his longtime ties to the anti-abortion movement, was a key moment that solidified that merger, as was Trumps public promise to name a specifically pro-life nominee to the Supreme Court. Trump plans to announce his nominee for the Supreme Court on Feb. 2, the same day as the National Prayer Breakfast.

For Mancini, comparisons with last weeks Womens March, which was perhaps the largest single-day protest in American history, are apples to oranges. Organizers introduced the March on Friday as the largest annual civil rights demonstration in the world.

We are 44 years strong, Mancini says. We have been marching in rain, sleet, snow, and sun. There was a blizzard last year and we marched. Three years ago we had subzero temperatures. And we marched."

The March for Life has united its supporters over time in one specific purpose, to come to Washington on the anniversary of the Roe decision to fight it. The Womens March represented a wide range of protests, from climate change to gay rights to black lives matter to protesting Trumps commitment to defund Planned Parenthood.

The March for Life while insistent, is not a singular burst of energy, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, says. It is a consistent and persistent insistence that our government live up to our nations promises to the vulnerable and those who live in the shadows. Pro-life power in the White House and in the Congress is an outward sign of the strength and integrity of the pro-life movement.

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USA Today Network Tony Cook, The Indianapolis Star 6:15 p.m. ET Jan. 29, 2017

The Bicentennial Plaza at the Indiana State House is ready to be enjoyed by the public. The plaza is centered on the intersection of Senate Avenue and Robert D. Orr Plaza. The new Plaza creates a public space that can be used by government center employees, along with all citizens and visitors to Indiana. The design is intended to make the Plaza an engaging space that includes a water feature and two public art pieces, one representing elements of the Torch and another as a figurative interpretation of a time capsule. (Photo: Matt Kryger/IndyStar)

INDIANAPOLIS Vice President Mike Pence has a new home in Washington, D.C.,and an office in the White House, but back in Indiana, state officials are still scrambling to figure out how to pay for several bicentennial construction projects Pence initiated as governor without a solid financing plan.

At issue are $53.5 million in new projects Pence sought as part of the states 200th birthday celebration last year. They included a new $2 million Bicentennial Plaza at the Indiana Statehouse, a $2.5 million education center at the neighboring State Library, a new $25 million state archives building and a $24 million inn at Potato Creek State Park in St. Joseph County.

Construction on the plaza with its two large sculptures and water features and the education center already are complete. Some design workfor the archives building also has occurred. So far, the state has spent more than $5 million.

USA TODAY

At anti-abortion rally, Mike Pence is a beacon of hope

Skeptical lawmakers allowed Pence to spend taxpayer money on the projects as part of the state's 200th birthday celebration after he assured them he could pay for projectsby leasing excess space on the Indiana's 340 state-owned cell towers.

But two years after those assurances were made,a cell tower deal has yet to materialize.

Now, Gov. Eric Holcomb, Pence's successor and fellow Republican,is trying to find a way to fill the $5.5 million hole thoseprojects left in the state budget.

He initially proposed dipping into a fund traditionally reserved for public health initiatives, but is now reworking that plan after questions from IndyStar.

The need to find $5.5 million for the bicentennial projects comes at a time when Holcomb is already grappling witha$378 million revenue shortfallcompared to what lawmakers had originally budgeted for this year.

"We did the projects. We have to pay for the projects," said Stephanie Wilson, Holcomb's spokeswoman.

A Pence spokesman did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

In the two-year state spending plan Holcomb sent to lawmakers earlier this month, he sought to use money from the state's Tobacco Master Settlement fund to pay for the projects.

Money in that fund comes from a 1998 multistate lawsuit settlement with big tobacco companies over the health impact of their products. Indiana receives about $128 million a year from the settlement.Other states have used their share of the settlement for unrelated purposes, but Indiana traditionally has reserved the funds for public health initiatives such as childrens health insurance, community health centers, mental health treatment and programs to combat HIV and AIDS.

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Holcomb's proposal to use the fund to pay for bicentennial projects raised concerns among public health advocates given the states HIV outbreak last year, a sharp uptick in opioid abuse and deathsand the state's12th-highest-in-the-nation smoking rate.

That money was intended for health-related programs and thats where it should go, said Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis. Our governor talks about having an honestly balanced budget with no gimmicks. I think this would be a nice gimmick.

He and other lawmakers raised concerns when Pence first proposed funding the projects with a cell phone tower deal. Even Republican fiscal leaders expressed doubts about Pence's proposed funding mechanism afterIndyStar exposed last yearthat any cell tower deal likely wouldfall short of fully funding the projects.

Im going on faith," Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said last year."They assured me they can get this done.

Amid such concerns and in the heat of the presidential campaign Penceannounced in Septemberthat a cell phone tower deal had been reachedwith Ohio-based Agile Networks. The deal would provide the state with $50 million upfront and more during the life of the 25-year lease, his administration said.

This agreement, if approved, will put underused assets into full play, enhance Indianas communication capabilities throughout the state and fund the states bicentennial projects, Pence said at the time.

What Pence didn't say was that the deal with Agile Networks was far more expansive than advertised. Not only would it have given Agile control over the state's cell phone towers, it also would have allowed the company to use the state's vast fiber network.

That stirred fierce opposition from the state's cable and broadband trade groups, which represent companies such as AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner.

A spokesman for Agile declined comment for this story.

The deal was supposed to go before the state budget committee for final approval in December, but it did not end up on the agenda amid the behind-the-scenes controversy.

Now, the fate of the deal is uncertain.

Wilson said the governoris reviewing "the entire deal."

"Its not done," she said."We dont know if or when it will be done."

In the meantime, Holcomb is backingoff his initial proposal to pay for the bicentennial projects with money from the tobacco settlement fund.

Wilson said Tuesday that Holcomb is now asking House lawmakers to change the funding source for the projects to the general fund.

The tobacco settlement money will instead be used to support a planned increase in funding for the states adult protective services, whichan IndyStar investigation found last yearis woefully understaffed and ineffective in protecting vulnerable adults exposed to abuse and neglect.

This is in keeping with the governors commitment to using health-related funds for health-related purposes, Wilson said.

When asked about the bicentennial funding problem, fiscal leaders in the General Assembly tried to cast it in diplomatic terms.

"Lets say we had some friendly jousting going on between me and the (Pence) administration over the bicentennial projects," Kenley said. "At one time I said, 'Im not sure I can afford to celebrate our bicentennial.' But we went ahead and celebrated. Now that weve celebrated, weve got to pay the bills."

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Elusive funding for Mike Pence's bicentennial projects dogs his home state - USA TODAY