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Vice President of the United States
U.S. Representative for Indiana's 2nd and 6th districts Vice presidential campaigns | ||
Throughout his political career,Mike Pence has held conservative views.
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Pence is anopponent of abortion, and his unwavering support of abortion restrictions has gained him the support of grassroots conservative activists.[1] He began seeking to defundPlanned Parenthood in 2007[2] and in three congressional sessions, he introduced legislation to block organizations that provide abortion services from receiving anyTitle X funding, even for services not related to reproductive health orfamily planning.[3]Susan B. Anthony List presidentMarjorie Dannenfelser has praised Pence as a "pro-life trailblazer".[4]
Pence has criticizedcomprehensive sex education. In 2002, he criticized a speech by then-secretary of stateColin Powell, who had said it was "important for young people ... to protect themselves from the possibility of acquiring any sexually transmitted disease" through the use ofcondoms.[5][6] Pence called Powell's comments a "sad day" and expressed his support forabstinence education.[5][6] He asserted that "condoms are a very, very poor protection against sexually transmitted diseases" and that Powell was "maybe inadvertently misleading millions of young people and endangering lives" despite theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) assessment that when properly used they offer effective protection against sexually transmitted diseases.[5][6]
Pence opposed presidentBarack Obama's executive order eliminatingrestrictions on embryonic stem-cell research, saying: "I believe it is morally wrong to create human life to destroy it for research ... I believe it is morally wrong to take the tax dollars of millions of pro-life Americans."[7][8] He asserted that "scientific breakthroughs have rendered embryonic stem-cell research obsolete."[7][8]
On January 27, 2017, Pence spoke at theMarch for Life in Washington, D.C., becoming the first vice president of the United States, and at the time, the highest-ranking U.S. official to ever speak at the annual event, until presidentDonald Trump spoke at the event in 2020.[9][10]
Pence said in 2018 he supported an overturn ofRoe v. Wade, but denied U.S. Supreme Court justiceBrett Kavanaugh was nominated for that purpose.[11][12] During the2020 vice presidential debate, when moderatorSusan Page asked what he would want states to do ifRoe were overturned, Pence refused to endorse criminalizing abortion, instead simply referring to himself as "pro-life".[4]
The day the Supreme Court overturnedRoe in June 2022, Pence toldBreitbart News: "Roe v. Wade has been consigned to the ash heap of history...Having been given this second chance for life, we must not rest and must not relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the center of American law in every state in the land."[13]
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DuringJuneteenth Day of 2020, a television journalist asked Pence if he would say the wordsBlack Lives Matter. Pence replied thatall lives matter. He added that no significant U.S. group would disagree, as he saw it, about "the preciousness and importance of every human life".[14] Pence denounced thepolice abolition movement when speaking to a police union rally in Philadelphia in July 2020, commenting how "we also don't need to choose between supporting our police and supporting African American families here in Philadelphia or anywhere in America. We can do both. We have done both."[15]
Pence has been a staunch opponent of efforts to expand LGBT civil rights, during both his governorship and his tenure as a member of theU.S. House of Representatives. In 2000, his congressional campaign website said, "Congress should oppose any effort to recognize homosexuals as a "discrete and insular minority" entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to women and ethnic minorities."[16] Also included on his website was a call for "an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus" and instead advocated that "Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior."[17][18][19][20] Some LGBT rights advocates have cited this as evidence of Pence endorsingconversion therapy, a charge he denies.[21]
In 2007, Pence voted against theEmployment Non-Discrimination Act, which would have banned workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.[22] Pence opposed the 2009Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act,[23] saying that Obama wanted to "advance a radical social agenda"[24] and said that pastors "could be charged or be subject to intimidation for simply expressing a Biblical worldview on the issue of homosexual behavior."[25] In 2009, Pence claimed that there was "no evidence of any hate crimes occurring against individuals for gender identity."[26]
Pence has said that homosexuals should not serve in the military, saying, "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service because the presence of homosexuals in the ranks weakens unit cohesion."[27] Pence opposedthe repeal of "don't ask, don't tell", saying in 2010 that allowinggays and lesbians to openly serve in the military would "have an impact on unit cohesion".[27][28]
Pence opposes bothsame-sex marriage andcivil unions.[29] While in the House, he said that "societal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family."[30] He has advocated a constitutional same-sex marriage ban but did not champion such a proposed ban for his first year as governor.[31]
In March 2019, former vice presidentJoe Biden referred to Pence as "a decent guy" during a speech at theUniversity of Nebraska Omaha, a month before Biden announcedhis 2020 presidential campaign. LGBT groups, progressive leaders and celebrities strongly criticized him, withCynthia Nixon, an actress and candidate in the2018 New York gubernatorial election, chastising Biden on Twitter, to which Biden responded by apologizing and criticizing Pence's stance on LGBT rights. Nixon later penned an op-ed inThe Washington Post calling Pence "insidious and dangerous" for his actions on LGBT rights, claiming about Biden's comments that "it's easy to say nice things about Pence when you're not personally threatened by his agenda. If Biden were being directly attacked in the same way that our community is, I think he would see Pence from a very different vantage point."[32][33]
Pence was a co-sponsor of a 2011 spending limit amendment to theU.S. Constitution, which was introduced by Michigan U.S. representativeJustin Amash. The amendment proposed limiting federal spending to "the average annual revenue collected in the three prior years, adjusted in proportion to changes in population and inflation".[34] In regards to adopting thegold standard, Pence said in 2011, "the time has come to have a debate over gold and the proper role it should play in our nation's monetary affairs."[35]
Pence proposed legislation to end the dual mandate of theFederal Reserve (maximizing employment and stabilizing prices), requiring the Fed to just focus on price stability and notfull employment.[36][37] He has been a proponent of aflat federal tax rate.[38] Pence opposed the 2008Troubled Asset Relief Program of 2008.[38] Pence also opposed theautomotive industry rescue package of 2008–2009, which guidedGeneral Motors andChrysler through bankruptcy.[39]
In 2007, Pence voted against raisingthe federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over two years, saying it would "hurt the working poor".[40] While in the House, Pence voted against theEmployee Free Choice Act ("card check").[41] He voted against theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[42] He had publicly opposed the bill,[43] denouncing it as a failure, and called for a federal spending freeze.[44] Nevertheless, several months after voting against the bill, Pence privately sought $6 million in stimulus funds for projects in his district,[45] and in 2010, hosted a job fair for stimulus-backed employers.[46] A Pence spokesperson said that "once it became law, he had a responsibility to support local efforts to secure funding for projects that could benefit people in his district."[45] Pence voted against theDodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.[47]
Pence was a supporter ofearmark reform. He voted against the $139.7 billion Transportation–Treasury spending bill in June 2006, and in favor of a series of amendments proposed that same month byJeff Flake which would strip other members' earmarks from the federal budget.[48] On occasion, however, Pence secured earmarks for projects in his district.[48]
Pence supported presidentGeorge W. Bush's unsuccessful 2005 proposal to partially privatizeSocial Security[49] by allowing workers to invest part of theirSocial Security payroll taxes in private investment accounts andreduce the increase in benefits for high-income participants.[50] Pence had previously proposed a similar but more aggressive reform plan than Bush's.[50]
When asked in 2010 if he would be willing to make cuts to Social Security, Pence answered, "I think everything has to be on the table."[50] When asked if he would raise the retirement age, he said, "I'm an all-of-the-above guy. We need look at everything on the menu."[50]
Pence voted againstthe act that created Medicare Part D (a prescription drug benefit)[51] and against theAffordable Care Act (ACA).[52] In June 2012, after the Supreme Court upheld the ACA inNFIB v. Sebelius, Pence likened the ruling to theSeptember 11 attacks in a closed-door meeting of theHouse Republican Conference. He immediately apologized for making the statement.[53]
Pence wrote an article that appeared on his 2000 congressional campaign website arguing againstthe tobacco settlement and tobacco regulation, saying they would create "new government bureaucracies" and encroach on private lives. He wrote, "despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesn't kill."[54][55] Pence asserted, "two out of every three smokers does [sic] not die from a smoking related illness and nine out of ten smokers do not contract lung cancer," while acknowledging that "smoking isn't good for you" and people who smoke should quit.[54][55] In fact, smoking-related deaths comprise two out of three among those who smoke, twice as high as Pence claimed.[56] In 2009, Pence voted against theFamily Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which allows theFood and Drug Administration toregulate tobacco products.[57] According to the CDC, Pence's state of Indiana has one of the worst smoking problems in America.[7]
Pence was slow to support a needle exchange program in Indiana to combat a major HIV outbreak related to needle-sharing amongopioid drug users. While giving credit for the program's ultimate start, an AIDS research foundation director of public policy later deemed the outbreak "entirely preventable".Jerome Adams, Pence's state health commissioner, defended Pence's pace at responding to the situation.[58][59] Republican state house representativeEdward Clere, concerned about the rapid spread of HIV inScott County, Indiana, urged then-governor Pence to sign an executive order to allowneedle exchange programs to operate. After resisting the intervention for over two months, Pence spoke to the county sheriff, prayed for guidance, then finally capitulated in May 2015, signing an executive order that allowed such a program to address the epidemic. The rate of infection spread then slowed dramatically.[59]
In February 2020, after conflicting statements by administration officials via television, it was announced that Pence would control all messaging from government health officials regardingthe COVID-19 pandemic.[60]
In June 2006, Pence unveiled an immigration plan (which he described as "No Amnesty Immigration reform") that would include increased border security, followed by strict enforcement of laws against hiring illegal aliens, and aguest worker program. This program would have required participants to apply from their home country to government-approved job placement agencies that match workers with employers who cannot find Americans for the job.[61] The plan received support from conservatives such asDick Armey,[62] but attracted criticism from other conservatives such asRichard Viguerie andpaleoconservatives such asPhyllis Schlafly andPat Buchanan, who, as described byThe New York Times, collectively viewed Pence as lending "his conservative prestige to a form of liberal amnesty".[63][64]
Pence opposesbirthright citizenship.[65] Pence asserted in 2018 that theCitizenship Clause of theFourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (which provides that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside") would not apply to "people who are in the country illegally".[66] As a congressman, Pence co-sponsored a bill that would have limited citizenship to children born to at least one parent who is a citizen, immigrants living permanently in the U.S. or non-citizens performing active service in the Armed Forces.[65]
In 2010, Pence voted against theDREAM Act, which would grant theundocumented children of illegal immigrants conditional non-immigrant status if they met certain requirements.[67] In 2010, Pence saidArizona SB 1070, which at the time of passage in the same year was the nation's broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration legislation, was "a good faith to try and restore order to their communities".[68]
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Pence supported thePatriot Act on its passage in 2001,[69] and in 2005 called the act "essential to our continued success in thewar on terror here at home".[70] He was a sponsor of legislation in 2009 to extend three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act (thelibrary records provision, theroving-wiretap provision, and the lone-wolf provision) for an additional ten years.[71]
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Pence supported theIraq War Resolution, which authorizedmilitary action against Iraq.[72] During theIraq War, Pence opposed setting a public withdrawal date from Iraq. During an April 2007 visit toBaghdad, Pence andJohn McCain visitedShorja market, the site of a deadly attack in February 2007, which had claimed 61 lives. Pence and McCain described the visit as evidence that the security situation in Iraqi markets had improved.[73] The visit to the market took place under tight security, including helicopters overhead, andThe New York Times reported that the visit gave a false indication of how secure the area was because of the extremely heavy security forces protecting McCain.[74] Pence chaired theHouse Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and was a prominent supporter of George W. Bush'sIraq War troop surge of 2007. At the time, Pence said "the surge is working" and defended the initial decision to invade in 2003.[72]
Pence has opposed closing theGuantanamo Bay detention camp and trying the suspected terrorists in the U.S.[75] As an alternative, he has said the "enemy combatants" should be tried in a military tribunal.[75]
Pence has stated his support ofIsrael and its right to attack facilities in Iran to prevent the Iranians from developing nuclear weapons, has defended the actions of Israel in its use of deadly force in enforcingthe blockade of Gaza, and has referred to Israel as "America's most cherished ally".[76] He visited Israel in 2014 to express his support, and in 2016 signed into law a bill which would ban Indiana from having any commercial dealings with a company that boycotts Israel.[77] He opposes aPalestinian state.[78]
Pence criticized Russian presidentVladimir Putin and Barack Obama's alleged weak leadership, saying: "When Donald Trump and I observe that, as I've said in Syria, in Iran, in Ukraine, that the small and bullying leader of Russia has been stronger on the world stage than this administration, that's stating painful facts. That's not an endorsement of Vladimir Putin. That's an indictment of the weak and feckless leadership."[79]
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Two weeks prior to theNATO intervention in Libya, Pence thanked the Obama administration and secretary of stateHillary Clinton for their efforts to isolate theMuammar Gaddafi regime.[80][81][82] Pence expressed support for "a no-fly zone" and said "Gaddafi must go."[80][81][82]
Pence condemned the "terrible savagery"against Rohingya Muslims inMyanmar, saying "The images of the violence and its victims have shocked the American people, and decent people all over the world."[83]
Pence called on Turkish presidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan to releaseAndrew Brunson, an American pastor detained in thepost-coup purges in Turkey.[84] On August 1, 2018, the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on two seniorTurkish government ministers who were involved in the detention of Brunson.[85][86] Erdoğan said the U.S. behavior will force Turkey to look for new friends and allies.[87]
On July 26, 2018, Pence raised theXinjiang internment camps issue at Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom,[88] saying that "Sadly, as we speak as well, Beijing is holding hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions, ofUyghur Muslims in so-called "re-education camps", where they're forced to endure around-the-clock political indoctrination and to denounce their religious beliefs and their cultural identity as the goal."[89]
Pence "has been a longtime, aggressive advocate of trade deals" between the U.S. and foreign countries.[90] Pence has been a supporter of theNorth American Free Trade Agreement,[90] and during his tenure in the House, he voted for everyfree-trade agreement that came before him.[91] Pence voted in favor of theCentral American Free Trade Agreement; in favor of keeping the U.S. in theWorld Trade Organization; and in favor ofpermanent normal trade relations with China.[91] Pence also supported bilateralfree-trade agreements with Colombia,South Korea,Panama,Peru,Oman,Chile, andSingapore.[91] Pence's strong stance in favor of free trade sharply differed from the stance of his running mate Trump, who has condemnedglobalization and theliberalization of trade.[90][91]
Pence voted against the Trade and Globalization Act of 2007, which would have expandedTrade Adjustment Assistance to American workers adversely affected by globalization.[92] However, in 2014, Pence called for the "swift adoption" of theTrans-Pacific Partnership, urging Indiana's congressional delegation to support the trade deal.[90]
Pence "does not acceptthe scientific consensus that human activity is the primary driver ofclimate change".[93] In a 2001 op-ed, Pence called global warming "a myth" and added that "the earth is actually cooler today than it was about 50 years ago".[94][95] In 2006 and 2009, Pence expressed the view that it was unclear whether global warming wasdriven by human activity, and in 2009 he told political commentatorChris Matthews that there was a "growing skepticism in the scientific community about global warming".[96][97] In 2009, Pence led the Republican effort to defeat theAmerican Clean Energy and Security Act (Waxman-Markey), a Democratic-backed bill to cutgreenhouse gas emissions (and thereforecombat climate change) through acap-and-trade system.[93]
On September 27, 2016, however, Pence said "there's no question" thathuman activity affects both the climate and the environment.[98] Pence holds a lifetime rating of four percent from theLeague of Conservation Voters.[99] While in the House, Pence "voted to eliminate funding forclimate education programs and to prohibit theEnvironmental Protection Agency from regulatinggreenhouse gas emissions".[100] Pence also "repeatedly voted against energy efficiency and renewable energy funding and rules" and voted "for several bills that supportedfossil fuel development, including legislation promoting offshore drilling".[100]
Pence has questioned proposals to decrease penalties for low-levelmarijuana offenses in Indiana, saying the state should focus on "reducing crime, not reducing penalties".[101] In 2013, he expressed concern that a then-pending bill to revise the state's criminal code was not tough enough on drug crimes, and successfully lobbied to limit the reduction in sentencing of marijuana offenses.[102]
In 2016, Pence signed into law a measure that would reinstate a ten-yearmandatory minimum prison sentence for certain drug offenders.[103][104]
During 2014, Pence sent a letter to U.S. attorney generalEric Holder, saying Indiana would not comply withfederal prison rape elimination standards because they were "too expensive". According to theIndiana Department of Correction, it would cost the state $15–20 million annually to comply with the guidelines. Pence said a number of rape prevention measures had already been "implemented".[105]
In 2015, Pence signed Senate Bill 94 to lengthen the statute of limitations for rape—continuing for five years after sufficient DNA evidence is uncovered, enough recorded evidence is brought forth or discovered, or the offender confesses to the crime.[106] Pence also signed Senate Bill 8 to allow the death penalty for beheadings if the victim was alive at the time of the offense.[106]
Pence has been an advocate of federal restrictions on online gambling. In 2006, he was one of 35 cosponsors of H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte–Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act,[107] and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.[108]
Pence praised the 2010 Supreme Court ruling inCitizens United v. FEC when it was announced. He said:
Freedom won today in the Supreme Court. Today's ruling in the Citizens United case takes us one step closer to the Founding Fathers' vision of free speech, a vision that is cherished by all Americans and one Congress has a responsibility to protect. If the freedom of speech means anything, it means protecting the right of private citizens to voice opposition or support for their elected representatives. The fact that the court overturned a 20-year precedent speaks volumes about the importance of this issue.[109]
Pence described theBipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which regulates thefinancing of political campaigns, as "oppressive restrictions on free speech".[110]
In the late 1990s, Pence supported thepresident Bill Clinton's impeachment. Arguing for the moral requirements of the office of the presidency, Pence wrote that an American president with "bad moral habits" can "incinerate the planet", thus nothing less than a president who represents "all of our highest hopes and ideals and values" could be accepted. Pence also brought up "staggering rates of illegitimacy and divorce", mandating that "America needs to be able to look to her First Family as role models."[111][112]
Pence, who used to work for a free-market think tank, was a booster of Bush's aborted 2005 plan to partially privatize Social Security.
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