Great America Committee is a political action committee (PAC) registered by

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice p ...

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

on May 17, 2017. It is the first example of an active vice president creating such a type of political action committee while serving in office.

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

noted Pence's action came only one day after reporting on the

Comey memos James Comey, the seventh Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was fired by U.S. President Donald Trump on May 9, 2017. Comey had been criticized in 2016 for his handling of the FBI's investigation of the Hillary Clinton emai ...

led to the appointment of a

special counsel In the United States, a special counsel (formerly called special prosecutor or independent counsel) is a lawyer appointed to investigate, and potentially prosecute, a particular case of suspected wrongdoing for which a conflict of interest exist ...

in the investigation into

Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections The Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the goals of harming the campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the candidacy of Donald Trump, and increasing political and social discord in the United States. Acc ...

. ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'' reported on the unusual nature of a vice president forming their own PAC, when they normally rely on their political party.

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

said it was the first time a vice president took such an action. ''

TheStreet.com ''TheStreet'' is a financial news and financial literacy website. It is a subsidiary of The Arena Group. The company provides both free content and subscription services such as Action Alerts Plus a stock recommendation portfolio co-managed by B ...

'' called it "unprecedented" and "awkwardly-timed". ''

Nine News ''Nine News'' (stylised ''9News'') is the national news service of the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is the hour-long 6:00 pm state bulletin, produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, ...

'' observed the PAC was registered "amid the chaos" of the

Trump administration Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...

. ''

Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Televi ...

'' and ''Nine News'' pointed out that both Joe Biden and

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...

did not take such an action while serving as vice president. ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

'' noted this type of PAC was used by both

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...

and

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

as a tactic to launch their bids for president. '' Vanity Fair'' reported the action taken by Pence was an attempt to take control of his potential future during growing political talk of

efforts to impeach Donald Trump Various people and groups assert that former U.S. president Donald Trump engaged in impeachable activity both before and during his presidency, and talk of impeachment began before he took office. Grounds asserted for impeachment have inclu ...

History

On May 17, 2017,

Robert Mueller Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer and government official who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York ...

was appointed by the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

as a

special prosecutor In the United States, a special counsel (formerly called special prosecutor or independent counsel) is a lawyer appointed to investigate, and potentially prosecute, a particular case of suspected wrongdoing for which a conflict of interest exis ...

to investigate

. On the same day, Great America Committee was registered with the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

. The PAC began with staffing from Pence associates

Nick Ayers James Nicholas Ayers (born August 16, 1982) is an American political strategist and consultant who served as Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence between July 2017 and January 2019. He had previously served as national chairman for Pence' ...

and Marty Obst. The PAC was formed with the intention of assisting the political campaigns of Republican members of the Congress in their election and re-election efforts. Money raised by the political action committee would be utilized to fund the costs of travel for Mike Pence aboard

Air Force Two Air Force Two is the air traffic control designated call sign held by any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the U.S. vice president, but not the president. The term is often associated with the Boeing C-32, a modified 757 which is most ...

when he makes politically oriented trips in the United States. Funds from the Great America Committee would potentially be available to Pence if he wished to use them in his legal defense regarding the Russian interference in the Russia investigation.

Analysis

'' noted it was unusual for a vice president to start a political action committee in this manner during their tenure as vice president, and instead they normally fuse their fundraising activities with the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

reported it was the first instance of a political action committee of this nature being formed during an active vice president's tenure in their office.

reported the political action committee was created "amid White House turmoil" and "after the so-called 'Comey memo' ricocheted through Washington and effectively resulted in the naming of a special counsel to probe what President Trump once called 'this Russia thing'". ''

'' called it an "unprecedented and awkwardly-timed political action committee". ''

'' reported the political action committee formation steps were taken "amid the chaos of the Trump administration". ''

'' and ''Nine News'' pointed out that both Joe Biden and

did not take such an action while serving as vice president. ''

'' noted these types of political action committees were utilized in the prior election season as a stepping off point to start a presidential campaign, and cited the campaigns of both

and

as recent examples. '' Vanity Fair'' reported that—amid growing talk of

—Pence "seemingly tried to take control of his political future ..when he filed paperwork with the F.E.C. to launch his own PAC, the Great America Committee". Center for Responsible Politics executive director Sheila Krumholz told ''Bloomberg News'': "Launching a leadership PAC sometimes signals an intent to run for higher office, which in Pence’s case, has been a topic of public interest ever since he was first nominated".

References

External links

*
Statement of Organization

(May 17, 2017). {{Mike Pence United States political action committees May 2017 events in the United States Conservative political advocacy groups in the United States Political organizations established in 2017 2017 establishments in the United States Mike Pence Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign

History

Analysis

See also

References

External links