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Vice Presidential Chief of Staff Josh Pitcock, second from right, looks on as President Donald Trump meets with automobile company executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Jan. 24, 2017.(Photo: Pool, Getty Images)

WASHINGTON Vice President Pence is replacing his chief of staff, swapping one long-time aide for another in his first major staff change.

Josh Pitcock, who worked for Pence for a dozen years, is leaving the job at the end of the month. Pitcock worked for Pence both when he was a member of Congress and Indiana's governor.

Nick Ayers, a Pence political adviser, will take his place.

The change was first reported by The New York Times.

Ayers was a top adviser to Pences gubernatorial re-election campaign and became his senior adviser on the vice presidential campaign trail. He also helped Pence lead the transition team.

Pence said he's "come to appreciate Nick's friendship, keen intellect and integrity."

"I couldnt be more excited to have him come to the White House," Pencesaid in a statement.

Republican political strategists Nick Ayers and Kellyanne Conway arrives at Trump Tower, December 8, 2016 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling cabinet and other high level positions for the new administration.(Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images)

Ayers, Pitcock and Marc Short, President Trumps director of legislative affairs, are part of a tight circle of Pence advisers which also includes longtime aide and fundraiser Marty Obst.

"Deciding to leave was not easy, but I believe the time is right for me to transition to the private sector," Pitcock said in a statement. "Nick and I have worked seamlessly together for years and will continue to do so through the transition and thereafter.

Ayers is still expected to play a role in Pence's team, but from an outside perspective.

"Whatever the future holds for Josh and his family, he will remain one of my most trusted advisers and cherished friends," Pence said in a statement.

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The change is taking place a few weeks after Pence announced he hired outside counsel to help him respond to questions raised by the special counsel investigatingpossible collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russia.

A Pence official who was not authorized to speak about the subject said the ongoing investigationis not a factor in the change in top aides.

Although Pence has not been at the center of the questions raised about Trump campaign officials, hehasnt escaped totally unscathed.

The New York Timesreported last month that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn told the Trump transition team headed by Pence that he was under FBI investigation for secretly lobbying for Turkey during the campaign. After that report, Pence reiterated a previous statement that he first learned of Flynn's lobbying in March.

Flynn was fired after he lied to Pence and others about not having spoken during the transition with the Russian ambassador about the sanctions imposed on the country by the Obama administration.

After President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, Pence repeated the initial White House explanation that Comey was dismissed based on the recommendation of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.But Trump later undercut that explanation, sayinghe was going to fire Comey regardless of the Justice Department's recommendation which centered on the former FBI director's controversial handling of the Hillary Clinton email prob and confirmed in a television interview the Russia investigation was indeed on his mind when he made the decision.

Pence relied heavily on former aides from his congressional and gubernatorial days to staff his new office.

Pitcock started in Pences congressional office as a legislative assistant and rose to chief of staff. When Pence became governor, the state contracted with Pitcock to lobby for Indianas interests in Washington. Pitcock continued that post while also working on the vice presidential campaign.

As a former lobbyist, Pitcock was given a waiver from the ethics rules Trump signed earlier this year that barred any lawyers and lobbyists joining the administration from working on matters that involved their former clients.

Pence said he will always be grateful for the foundation Pitcock laid in his office.

For his part, Ayers, a Georgia native who headed the Republican Governors Association in 2010, was a top contender to take over the Republican National Committee after the election.

Instead, he helped start America First Policies, an outside group launched in January to promote Trumps policies and provide a counter balance to the agenda of the liberal and biased media.

The group has run ads against GOP Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada for his opposition to the Republican bill to overhaul Obamacare.

Ayers, who had been considering running for governor, said his departure from Georgia - "albeit temporarily" is only possible because of how much he believes in the policies Pence and Trump are fighting for.

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Mike Pence's first major staff shakeup: Josh Pitcock out, Nick Ayers in as chief of staff - USA TODAY

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Updated: Thursday, June 29, 2017, 9:21 AM

CLEVELAND Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday reiterated a promise to repeal former President Barack Obama's health care reforms by the end of the summer despite uncertainty over whether a Republican bill has enough votes to pass the Senate.

In a speech delivered at a Cleveland manufacturing facility, Pence defended the bill, saying its measures to expand health savings accounts and create tax credits would make insurance more affordable. He said the legislation would cut costs for businesses and give states flexibility to tailor Medicaid programs to local needs.

"(President Donald Trump) believes in state-based solutions, not one-size-fits-all Washington answers," Pence said.

After Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell abandoned plans to bring the bill to a vote this week, fresh GOP critics came forward to attack the bill, with the number of Republican senators publicly complaining about it hitting double digits.

But despite strong party opposition, Pence said the Trump administration is continuing to make "great progress every single day."

Pence's speech came a day after Ohio U.S. Sen. Rob Portman declared his opposition to the bill, catching the senator in the crosshairs of a high-stakes intraparty fight.

Portman is among Republican senators facing intense pressure back home, targeted by demonstrators, advertisement campaigns and a verbal onslaught from Gov. John Kasich, who has spearheaded GOP criticism of the Senate bill.

Pence didn't criticize Portman. Instead, Pence took aim at Democrats, saying Obama's health reforms had driven up insurance premiums and deductibles and blaming them for obstructing health care reform.

"Obamacare has failed, and Obamacare must go," Pence said. "You'd have to be a politician blinded by partisanship to believe otherwise. But, sadly, Congress is full of them."

Democrats have roundly criticized the Republican plan to scrap the Obama health care law. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said, "Surely we can do better than what the Republican health care bill promises."

In a nod to Ohio's drug overdose problems, Pence singled out opioids in his speech Wednesday, saying the bill would provide new resources to help fight mounting death tolls. Portman has expressed concerns about the impact of slashed Medicaid funding on Ohio's ability to battle the epidemic.

Pence, toward the end of his speech, urged his audience of about 200 people to contact their representatives to put pressure on them to roll back Obama's health care law.

Steven Simons, a 57-year-old paint worker at the workshop where Pence made his speech, said he had faith in the Trump administration's ability to repeal the Democratic former president's health care reforms.

"I know they ain't got it right yet, but they will get it right," Simons said.

Simons said he's covered by employer health insurance and his coverage was reduced under Obama.

Pence also spoke about cutting taxes and bringing manufacturing jobs from overseas.

Earlier in the day, Pence participated in a round-table discussion with business leaders and toured the facility, Tendon Manufacturing, and spoke with workers who demonstrated a laser metal cutter and sheet metal fabricators.

Pence was on his fourth visit to Ohio since taking office in January.

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Mike Pence says Trump will repeal Obamacare by the end of summer - New York Daily News

Vice President Mike Pence had an "organizational" phone call Wednesday with members of the election fraud panel that the White House commissioned last month.

With an executive order, President Trump created the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which is charged with investigating voter fraud and issuing recommendations to prevent it.

"The integrity of the vote is a foundation of our democracy; this bipartisan commission will review ways to strengthen that integrity in order to protect and preserve the principle of one person, one vote," said Pence, who leads the election fraud panel, told commission members in the phone call, according to a White House statement.

Kris Kobach, vice chair of the commission and Kansas secretary of state, told members he will send a letter Wednesday to the 50 states and District of Columbia requesting publicly available data from state voter rolls and feedback on how to prevent voter fraud.

The commission set July 19 as its first meeting in Washington, D.C.

Trump instituted the commission after making an unsubstantiated claim that millions of illegal immigrants voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, and prevented him from winning the popular vote.

Democrats and civil rights groups have condemned the panel as a waste of taxpayer money that is meant to restrict voting access to minority groups.

See the rest here:
Mike Pence holds 'organizational' call with Trump's voter fraud panel - Washington Examiner

The controversy was yet another reminder, a few days ahead of America's birthday, that Trump is a leader like no other in the nation's 241-year history, who plans to stay true to himself and is willing to flout norms of decorum.

The longer such antics go on, more and more people will question whether the leader of the free world is not just damaging his own presidency, but demeaning the office itself and potentially diminishing it for whoever comes after him.

"It's unworthy of the office of President of the United States," Maine Sen. Susan Collins told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "And I am concerned about how we look in the eyes of the world as well as our own citizens."

Thursday's tweets focused attention on Trump's coarse brand of political discourse, and his ironclad principle that anyone who criticizes him, as Brzezinski did on her show on Thursday, can expect a gut punch in return.

His tweet outraged political leaders in Washington and renewed debate about the President's history of disparaging remarks about women. It left allies fuming about yet another day when his political agenda was drowned out by Trump-induced tumult.

But on a deeper level, the shocking tweet, which claimed that the "Morning Joe" host had been "bleeding badly from a facelift," raised questions about whether his behavior was appropriate from a head of state, about his respect for his office itself, and whether this presidency could irrevocably erode the standards of dignity that have grown around it since George Washington swore the first oath of office in New York City in 1789.

The New York Daily News revealed its Friday cover -- a bald eagle, head hanging down as if in shame, with "humiliation" in capital letters.

For a sense of proportion, it might also be said that his tweets, while often misrepresenting facts and dealing in personal attacks, pale in comparison to the actions of some of his predecessors. Also casting the presidency in a poor light were President Bill Clinton's Oval Office encounters with an intern and President Richard Nixon's cover-up that led to his resignation over the Watergate scandal.

Yet Trump's demeanor obviously falls short of the elevated standards established by the likes of Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Ronald Reagan, and appears to risk fraying that faith in his office still further.

Unlike some of those leaders, it is not clear that Trump regards the presidency as a public trust to be preserved and passed onto successive generations. He often seems more concerned with his own image than the reputation of the presidency itself, as his fixation with the size of his election victory and inauguration crowds has revealed.

Trump does not exist in a vacuum. He is an expression of a polarized political age that lacks civility, shaped by reality television and instant emotional kick of social media that has shattered political and societal norms.In many ways, Trump seems to be exactly the same personality who lived out his life in the New York tabloids and swapped smutty stories with radio host Howard Stern.

So far at least, he doesn't seem to be changed by the responsibilities heaped on his shoulders.

But while his unchained style helped him win the presidency, it may be undermining his chances of significant achievements now that he is in office.

That's because the presidency is more than a job. The pageantry, from the Oval Office, to the "beast" limousine, to Air Force One as it jets into a foreign land, conjures up a mystique and a statement of power -- that Trump appears not yet to have harnessed to its full potential.

His White House's war with the media, the chaos that pervades the administration, and the fact the President dispels his own elevated aura by inviting the world into his mind every day on his Twitter feed also seem at risk of diminishing the unique power and prestige of his office.

Many Presidents were flawed men who made questionable moral choices. But most at least tried to keep their anger and most unguarded inner thoughts private, a safety valve that Trump seems to lack.

Trump's tweet was far from his only outrageous comment as a candidate or a President. But it appeared to set off a pent-up explosion of anger towards Trump over weeks of patience-fraying political tribulations.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina tweeted: "Mr. President, your tweet was beneath the office and represents what is wrong with American politics, not the greatness of America."

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski tweeted: "Stop it! The Presidential platform should be used for more than bringing people down."

House Speaker Paul Ryan, who normally swerves away from Trump tweets, said this one was not "appropriate" and didn't help efforts to change the political tone. Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey told CNN's Jake Tapper it was "maddening."

In some ways, the outpouring of criticism toward Trump was surprising precisely because his attack on Brzezinski was not all that surprising.

After all, he has a long record of incendiary comments toward his perceived opponents in the media, and directed at women particularly.

During his campaign, he insulted John McCain's war record, made vulgar comments about then Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and berated the grieving Muslim parents of a fallen war hero. As President, he claimed he was being wiretapped by the previous administration without evidence and seemed to suggest he may have tapes of conversations with FBI chief James Comey.

This time it seemed different, perhaps because the bullying tweet aimed at Brzezinski was another tweet targeted from the White House -- the people's house -- by a man who is the President of all Americans.

That may explain why few came to Trump's defense, save for his loyal deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in an abrasive encounter with the White House press corps.

"The President has been attacked mercilessly on personal accounts by members on that program, and I think he's been very clear that when he gets attacked, he's going to hit back," Huckabee Sanders said.

"They do this day after day after day, and then the President responds and defends himself and everybody is appalled and blown away," she added.

But Trump's skin does seem particularly thin. Presidents have long been mercilessly attacked but have often chosen to respond in a manner in keeping with the dignity of an office that Washington called an "arduous trust" in his farewell address.

The last two Presidents, for example, have often fumed privately. After the Iraq War degenerated into a bloody insurgency, George W. Bush was relentlessly attacked over his intellect and leadership skills. But he rarely snapped in public.

President Barack Obama, the first African-American commander in chief, endured a character assassination over claims he was not even born in the United States -- conducted by Trump himself -- and only rarely displayed his public disgust for his accuser.

Trump's supporters, by this time, are well used to his eruptions on Twitter and elsewhere, and may shrug their shoulders at his assault on a mainstream media figure.

In fact, Huckabee said, Trump's bombast was the reason he is in the White House.

"The American people elected somebody who's tough, who's smart, and who's a fighter, and that's Donald Trump. And I don't think that it's a surprise to anybody that he fights fire with fire," she said.

History suggests it will take more than explosive tweets to tarnish the Oval Office.

"I am not sure that any damage to the office will be permanent because I cannot see another President like Trump being replicated," said Lori Cox Han, an author and professor who teaches courses on the presidency at Chapman University, California.

"I think of the office of the presidency as being incredibly resilient -- it survived Bill Clinton's impeachment, Richard Nixon's resignation ... survived the Civil War," Han said. "It and our Constitution will survive Trump -- no matter what side of the aisle you happen to be on."

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Delegitimizing his presidency, one tweet at a time - CNN

Her tough tone to some degree served as domestic political posturing ahead of elections in the fall. Martin Schulz, her main opponent, criticized her for not standing up more forcefully to President Trump.

Mr. Trump is expected to meet with President Vladimir Putin of Russia on the sidelines of the meeting in Hamburg.

Germany infuriated the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is also expected to attend the meeting, by rejecting his request to hold a rally for Turkish expatriate supporters there.

_____

In the U.S., lawyers and activists fanned out to airports as President Trumps travel ban went into effect. The State Department issued new guidelines on how to enforce the close family test on visitors from six predominantly Muslim countries.

We obtained a diplomatic cable that lays them out: Parents, spouses, children, in-laws and stepchildren qualify as close family. But grandparents, aunts and uncles do not. Here are the details.

Separately, Mr. Trump faced a bipartisan backlash after he assailed a television host in strikingly crude terms on Twitter.

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In Britain, the shaky government of Prime Minister Theresa May won Parliaments approval of its legislative program thanks to the support of 10 lawmakers from the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.

In a sign of the governments precariousness, it agreed to fund abortions in England for women from Northern Ireland amid pressure from an emboldened opposition and from within Conservatives ranks.

It was an early rebuff for the staunchly conservative D.U.P., which opposes abortion (and gay marriage).

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Sports roundup: Germany reached the Confederations Cup finals in a riveting 4-1 victory over Mexico. They will face Chile in the soccer tournaments finale in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday.

Wimbledon looms. Rafael Nadal will seek to extend his victory spree, on grass courts. And Venus Williams is expected to play, despite her involvement in a car crash on June 9 in Florida that resulted in a fatality.

And the Tour de France begins tomorrow, in the German city of Dsseldorf. Heres a stage-by-stage guide.

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Station F, a new start-up incubator in Paris, is a symbol of Frances ambitions to become Europes start-up capital. But some wonder if the land of the 35-hour workweek can overcome its cultural and regulatory barriers to competitiveness.

Rupert Murdochs long quest to buy Sky hasnt ended. The British authorities asked regulators to further examine 21st Century Foxs deal for the European satellite giant.

A cautionary speech by Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, spooked the European bond market, then selling spread to global stocks.

Heres a snapshot of global markets.

Iraqi troops recaptured what is left of the historic Al Nuri Grand Mosque in Mosul, which was destroyed by retreating Islamic State militants. Experts say the group is increasingly resorting to insurgent tactics. [The New York Times]

Pope Francis granted a leave of absence to Cardinal George Pell, the Vaticans de facto finance chief who has been charged with sexual assault, so that he could return to Australia to defend himself. [The New York Times]

A court in Russia convicted five Chechens in the 2015 assassination of Boris Nemtsov, an opposition leader. His family dismissed the trial as a cover-up. [The New York Times]

In a Parisian suburb, a man was arrested after apparently attempting to drive into a crowd outside a mosque. No one was injured. [France 24]

In Greece, the cleanup after a lengthy strike by garbage collectors has begun. [Kathimerini]

Prosecutors in Macedonia are seeking to arrest Nikola Gruevski, a former longtime prime minister, on charges that include election fraud. [Balkan Insight]

Our former Hong Kong bureau chief, now in Shanghai, writes that the former British colony is losing its luster 20 years after its return to China. [The New York Times]

Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.

Kubaneh, a Jewish Yemeni bread, was traditionally cooked overnight on a Friday, ready for Shabbat breakfast the next day. It is sweet and supple and shot through with butter to create a melting, airy delight. Heres a recipe.

Samin Nosrat, our newest food columnist, shares the quintessential books that informed the way she thinks about food, cooking and writing.

Stop Pretending Youre Not Rich. This opinion piece has been one of our most popular articles this month. Forget the 1 percent for the moment, the writer argues. Its the top fifth that rules.

And knotting cherry stems with your tongue doesnt have any practical purpose other than serendipity. Anyway, heres a guide.

Italys Klondike: Competitors from around the world descended on Piedmont for the Italian Goldpanning Championship. They found nuggets the size of bread crumbs.

The Diagnoses column looks at hard-to-solve medical case studies. The latest is about a woman surviving typhus, in part thanks to a joke about flying squirrels.

The rhythm of love: Palm cockatoos are the only animals observed to use tools for rhythmic drumming, seemingly to attract mates.

Many visit Bergen en route to dramatic fjords. But the city itself, Norways second-largest, is well worth a visit too. Come for aquavit (the gin of the Nordics) and an all-are-welcome cultural scene. But bring an umbrella.

Canada celebrates its 150th birthday tomorrow.

Ian Austen, our correspondent, tells us that not everyone will be partying for Canada 150.

Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, an Inuit filmmaker, is among those who say that Canada 15,000 would better reflect the countys history. And Quebec saves its party spirit for the Fte Nationale on June 24.

But in a country where summer can be all too brief, Mr. Austen writes, Canada Day remains the main event, and Ottawa is the place to celebrate.

Military jets will perform flybys, performers will perform, politicians will make speeches, and fireworks will burst. The government is promising that it will all be bigger and better for the special anniversary except possibly the political speeches, Mr. Austen says.

Queen Elizabeth of Britain, who is also Canadas head of state, is sending Prince Charles, though he gets a more indifferent welcome than his sons. (The photo above shows Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, arriving in Nunavut yesterday.)

And, perhaps incongruously, the Irish band U2 will perform before a crowd of hundreds of thousands, a staggering number of whom will have red maple leaves painted on their faces, Mr. Austen notes.

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This briefing was prepared for the European morning. We also have briefings timed for the Australian, Asian and American mornings. You can sign up for these and other Times newsletters here.

Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online.

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