Vice President Mike Pence is launching his own PAC — the “Great America Committee” — to aid his own future political interests, including helping Republican candidates ahead of the 2018 midterms.
The group, which filed paperwork with the FEC on Wednesday, will be able to use the funds to cover the costs of the vice president’s travels on Air Force Two to campaign on behalf of GOP candidates across the country.
This is the first time a sitting vice president has formed such a separate political arm. Former administration officials have used either party or campaign funds to cover travel costs.
A source close to the vice president said the organization will “provide resources for the vice president to actually support candidates who are supportive of the president’s agenda.”
The source also dismissed that there is any forethought into PAC being an infrastructure for a 2020 run of Pence's own. “Don’t read into 2020 as anything other than his running for re-election as vice president in 2020 and supporting other candidates,” the source said.
The group’s formation will also allow Pence to transfer his old political profiles on donors, digital platforms and other campaign data to the leadership PAC.
Leadership PACs can accept individual donations of up to $5,000.
Two of Pence’s top aides — Nick Ayers and Marty Obst — will head the new organization.
Ayers chaired the vice president’s bid in 2016 and Obst, a longtime top Pence aide, served as his director of operations during the vice presidential run last year.
The pair helped launch "America First Policies," the pro-Trump super PAC established by several former campaign advisers following the election. Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Katie Walsh joined the organization last month.
Several past presidential candidates, including Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, established leadership PACs ahead of announcing their White House bids in 2015.
