Politics

Pence Delayed Trip To Israel To Ensure Tax Reform

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Vice President Mike Pence postponed his scheduled trip to Israel to preside over the Senate’s final vote on the tax reform bill coming out of conference.

“Yesterday the White House informed Senate Leadership that due to the historic nature of the vote in the Senate on tax cuts for millions of Americans, the Vice President would stay to preside over the vote,” Alyssa Farah, press secretary for the office of the vice president, said in a statement.

The administration does not believe the vice president’s vote will be necessary as a tiebreaker, even though two GOP senators — John McCain of Arizona and Thad Cochran of Mississippi — have missed a number of votes in the past week.

Republicans can only afford to lose three senators in the vote. If that happens, Pence would be the fail-safe vote to ensure tax reform passes.

Pence’s trip to the Middle East has been delayed util Tuesday, but is notable coming off the heels of the administration’s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel.

President Donald Trump announced his decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move that broke away from over 20 years of indecision from previous U.S. presidents.

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