Vice President Mike Pence has emerged as a leader in the Senate — and a vocal one in Republican circles — in the wake of his years of serving in the House and as Indiana's governor.
The Washington Post takes a closer look at Pence's role in President Donald Trump's administration, which has been punctuated thus far by his tie-breaking vote in Tuesday's nomination of education secretary Betsy DeVos.
Pence's vote marked the first time since 2008 a vice president has had to step in and break a tie in the Senate chamber.
Pence meets with Republicans in the Senate every Tuesday for lunch, reports the Post, and he's become a vocal member of the group. Former Vice President Dick Cheney dined with members of the GOP too, but he would normally keep his conversations to a handful of lawmakers in a corner of the room.
"He didn't do much talking," Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told the Post regarding Cheney. "He tended to take a seat at a table off to the side and quietly talk to any senators with questions.
"Pence is much more gregarious."
Whether Pence's background as a radio host has anything to do with that is not clear. What is clear, however, is that he is an influential player in Trump's administration that is filled with non-politicians. He attends several meetings with other Republicans, a change from former Vice President Joe Biden's approach to the job that mostly included calling his contacts in Congress to lobby for legislation.
Pence has been a public face for Trump as well. He brought two injured members of the military with him to Sunday's Super Bowl. They traveled with Pence and his entourage on Air Force Two for the game in Houston. One of the veterans was an Atlanta Falcons fan, while the other followed the New England Patriots.
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