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By Haley Samsel and Maria Carrasco | 3 hours ago | Updated 59 minutes ago

Vice President Mike Pence addressed high school students in Kerwin Hall on Wednesday.

Vice President Mike Pence delivered a speech at AU Wednesday morning to high school students attending the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC), provoking outrage from AU students online and a small protest outside the speaking venue.

The event was not affiliated with the University, said AUs Assistant Vice President of Communications Camille Lepre.

NSLC is hosting the vice president as part of its annual conference which offers participants an opportunity to experience a week of activities on a college campus. This is not an AU-affiliated event and is not sponsored by the university, Lepre wrote in an email to The Eagle.

Pence delivered remarks in Kerwin Hall as part of the conference, which offers science, journalism and public policy programs to high school students, according to its website. NSLC holds leadership programs at 11 universities across the country, including AU. An email to the NSLCs program office at AU was not answered as of press time.

Its really great to be here at American University to address a rising generation of leaders in America. Give yourself a round of applause. You are the future, Pence said in his speech.

Pence gave advice to students on the skills they need to be leaders, telling them to expect and learn from criticism and to keep persevering. He spoke about a moment he shared with President Trump, remarking on Trumps listening skills.

The truth is our president leads by asking questions and he listens, and I believe that reflects the type of humility that will enhance your ability to be a leader, Pence said during his speech.

While this event was not sponsored or affiliated with AU, students protested the event online and in person. Several students spoke out online against Pences history of opposing LGBT rights, such as the legalization of gay marriage.

On Facebook, a copy and paste post was shared by dozens of students, reading: I, [name], condemn Mike Pence speaking at American University. He does not reflect our core values regarding reproductive justice and supporting the LGBTQIA+ community. #AUProtestsPence. Please copy/paste/fill in your name and tag American University to let them know where our community stands.

Recent AU graduates Quinn Dunlea and Dan Perry, along with senior Toby Jones, took their act of protest to the steps of Kerwin Hall, holding signs that read AU students dont stand by and say nothing and Religious freedom Discrimination. While there were less than a dozen students there, Jones said it was important for students to have their voices heard.

If there was any time for AU students to make ourselves known about where we stand on Mike Pences policies and his rhetoric that hes been using, now is that time, when hes coming to our campus, Jones said at the protest. And even though its not through AU, its an important event that hes coming to our campus and its important that we let him know how we feel.

Though the group gathered outside Kerwin Hall was small, it did include a recognizable name: Student Government President Taylor Dumpson.

Im here as student government, to make sure students that are protesting are aware of their rights that theyre afforded through the student code of conduct, Dumpson said at the protest. As well their freedom of expression and dissent and also making sure that theyre aware of the resources available with CASE [Center for Advocacy and Student Equity].

Senior and AU Ambassador Mark Sullivan, who could not attend the protest due to work, was also upset about Pences appearance and posted on Facebook that he would be wearing a rainbow pin as he gave tours of campus on Wednesday. Sullivan said he felt compelled to speak out against Pences speech on AUs campus as a member of the LGBT community.

As an ambassador at AU, I talk about what an incredible and supportive community I have found in my three years here, and the fact that we had Pence speaking on a campus that boasts about its inclusion and its diversity is something that shouldnt be ignored, Sullivan said in a message.

While several students expressed their distaste for Pences appearance, the AU College Republicans released a statement in support of the event.

The AU College Republicans could not be more elated to hear that Vice President Pence chose to visit American University per the invitation of a private organization. It is always an honor to have nationally significant figures on our campus, and it is especially laudable to host the vice president of the United States who has proven himself to be a strong conservative throughout his career as a public official, the statement read.

Sullivans problem with Pences appearance did not have to do with Pences identity as a Republican or a conservative, but with Pences ability to push his ideas onto a community he doesnt interact with, Sullivan said. He is worried about the consequences of Pences appearance on campus.

While [Pence] wasnt speaking to AU students, he was speaking to high schoolers that are part of a summer program and I hate the idea that they will associate Mike Pence with AU because I dont feel like he represents the overall student body or the campus culture, Sullivan said.

mcarrasco@theeagleonline.com and hsamsel@theeagleonline.com

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Mike Pence speaks at AU, sparking objections from students - The Eagle

(PROVIDENCE, R.I.) U.S. governors say the latest Republican health care overhaul is dominating private conversations at their summer meeting, and they plan to talk to Vice President Mike Pence about it.

Pence and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are scheduled to speak at the National Governors Association meeting in Providence on Friday.

Some Democratic governors gathered Friday morning to publicly criticize the revised health care bill, which was released Thursday. They spoke about how unwinding the Medicaid expansion created by the Affordable Care Act would hurt their states.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, said Republicans in Congress are "still trying to put lipstick on a pig, but guess what? It's still a pig."

Democratic Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo said she plans to voice strong opposition to Pence when she meets with him privately.

"It's on everyone's minds," Raimondo said. "It's what's in every private conversation. There's a high degree of anxiety. Even Republican governors will say that they're worried, especially the ones that have taken the Medicaid expansion."

Nevada expanded its Medicaid program. Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval said he's already told Pence he's concerned about protecting people newly eligible for Medicaid. He plans to reiterate those concerns to Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

"And I'm sure that they're going to come back to me and explain why they feel like those individuals that are receiving Medicaid now, the newly eligibles, won't be harmed," he said. "It's my obligation to hear them out, which is what I will do."

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to keep in place Medicaid cuts GOP governors and Senate moderates have objected to. No Democrats are supporting the plan.

The latest changes are geared toward increasing access to bare-bones private insurance. There's also an additional $45 billion to help states confronting the opioid epidemic. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, of North Carolina, called that funding a "fig leaf." Many of the "flimsy" policies that will be allowed under the legislation wouldn't cover substance abuse treatment, he said.

"What it is going to cost us to get out of this opioid crisis is significant, and health care coverage is important to that process," Cooper said. "This needs to be a bipartisan effort, just like we're working on the opioid fight in a bipartisan effort."

See the rest here:
'Still Trying to Put Lipstick on a Pig.' Governors Slam Revised Health Care Bill - TIME

Updated | When news broke this week that Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort met with a Russian lawyer last year in hopes of digging up dirt on Hillary Clinton, they joined an ever-expanding club: People who met with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign yet who claimed they did not. But for now, Vice President Mike Pence is keeping Americans in the dark as to whether he, too, is a member.

PencespokesmanMarc Lotterrepeatedly refused to answer questions on the subject Wednesday in an interview with Fox NewssBill Hemmer. Hemmer bluntly asked Lotter three times whether the vice president had ever met with Russian representatives, and each time he dodged the subject.

Related: Is Mike Pence the next president?

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At first, Lotter insisted Pence was not focused on the areas where, you know, on this campaign, especially things that happened before he was even on the ticket,referring to the fact that Trump Jr.s Russia meeting took place June 9 and Pence didnt join the campaign until July 15. When Hemmer next pressed him, Lotter said, That stuff, the special prosecutors and the counsels are all looking at.

Hemmer then demanded a yes-or-no answer.

Im not aware of anything that I have seen,Lotter responded. All the focus that I saw with Vice President Pence during the campaign and since then has been focused on working the agenda that the people sent him to Washington to accomplish.

Lotters non-answer answers were circulating Thursday morning on Twitter, where they caught the attention of journalists including CNNsJim Acosta and The New York Timess Jonathan Martin. Many brought up the fact that Pencesaid flatly in January that of coursethe Trump campaign did not have any contact with Kremlin officials whomeddled in the U.S. election, dismissing reports to the contrary as bizarre rumors.

Isnt it telling that now even Mike Pences people will not say he did not meet with Russians, after Mike Pence in January said, Of course, we never met with Russians, we were meeting with the American people?MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said on his show Thursday.

People have been watching Pence this week in the wake of the Trump Jr. scandal because the vice president is next in the line of succession should Donald Trump Sr. be impeached. (Its unlikely, but thats a whole other story.)

In a statement released Tuesday, Pence seemed to put space between himself and the campaign, saying he wasnt aware of the June 9 meeting and was unconcerned with stories about Trump aides before he joined the ticket. But officials and sources close to Pence have fought back, saying he wasnt trying to separate himself from Trump Sr.

Theres absolutely no distance between the president and the vice president,deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Wednesday. I dont know if theyve spoken directly about this, but I know theyve spoken today.

An earlier version of this article included an incorrect spelling ofMarc Lotter's last name.

Originally posted here:
Did Mike Pence Meet With Russia Too? His Spokesman Keeps Dodging the Question - Newsweek

Katherine Gregg Journal Political Writer kathyprojo

PROVIDENCE, R.I. Vice President Mike Pence and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are expected to have a private tte--tte while they are both in Providence on Friday, to deliver speeches to the National Governors Association's summer meeting.

It is not on the official NGA schedule, but Scott Pattison, the executive director and CEO of the Governors Association, and NGA spokeswoman Elena Waskey told The Journal that they anticipate Pence, the former governor of Indiana, will also meet privately in Rhode Island with the governors, many of whom are his friends.

Marc Lotter, the vice president's press secretary, confirmed the meetings in an email to The Journal. He said more details would be released later Thursday.

Trudeau's presence at the governors' event along with other officials from Canada, Mexico, India, China and Japan hasdrawn national attention.

As stated in a Washington Post article on the Governors Association event: "The sudden interest in the work of the governors from abroad reflects fears by leaders of some foreign governments about the direction of U.S. trade policy under a president who has sharply criticized free-trade agreements negotiated by past administrations."

With 1,500 expected attendees, Pattison said the Rhode Island conference appears to be drawing the largest number ever for a National Governors Association summer meeting, and if all the governors who registered show up one of the largest turnouts of governors.

Link:
Mike Pence, Justin Trudeau expected to meet privately in Providence - The Providence Journal

There's an old joke: A family has two sons. One son grows up and goes off to sea. The other becomes vice president of the United States. Neither is ever heard from again.

That joke made the rounds back in the 1910s, when the guy who liked to tell it, Thomas Marshall, was serving as Woodrow Wilson's vice president.

And while the vice presidency may have been something of a constitutional afterthought, a way to make sure the electoral college worked to pick a president, it has since evolved into an office with prestige, power -- and a pretty good chance of moving up to the presidency itself.

In this week's episode, we talk to two former chiefs of staff to past vice presidents as we chart the evolution of the office, from overlooked outpost to crucial cornerstone. And we remember some of the lesser known vice presidents in American history, like the two who voted against establishing the office in the first place, the guy who died before he even got to Washington, and the guy who compared the office to a "bucket of warm spit."

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Podcast: Why Mike Pence may be the most powerful VP ever - The Hill