Donald Trump’s first vice president snags new job

Former Vice President Mike Pence is heading back to school.

Pence, who served as vice president during President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House but who later ran against his former boss in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, is joining George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government as a distinguished professor of practice.

The northern Virginia-based school said that Pence will begin teaching undergraduate courses and public-facing seminars starting in next year’s spring semester.

The school, in a Tuesday announcement, also said that Pence will be available via moderated discussions and mentorship programs with students pursuing degrees in political science, law, public administration and related fields.

Schar School Dean Mark Rozell said that the former vice president’s ‘disciplined approach to communication and his deeply rooted conservative philosophy provide a principled framework to discussions of federalism, the separation of powers, and the role of values in public life.’

And Pence, in a statement, said that ‘throughout my years of public service, I have seen firsthand the importance of principled leadership and fidelity to the Constitution in shaping the future of our nation. I look forward to sharing these lessons with the next generation of American leaders and learning from the remarkable students and faculty of George Mason University.’

The now-66-year-old Pence, a former congressman, was Indiana’s governor when Trump named him his running mate in 2016. For four years, Pence served as the loyal vice president to Trump during the president’s first term in the White House.

However, everything changed on Jan. 6, 2021, as pro-Trump protesters — including some chanting ‘hang Mike Pence’ — stormed the U.S. Capitol aiming to upend congressional certification of now-former President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, a process overseen by Pence in his constitutional role as vice president. 

The attack on the Capitol took place soon after Trump spoke to a large rally of supporters near the White House about unproven claims that the 2020 election was ‘rigged’ due to massive ‘voter fraud.’

Pence rejected the advice of the Secret Service that he flee the Capitol, and after the rioters were eventually removed from the Capitol, he resumed his constitutional role in overseeing the congressional certification ceremony.

The former vice president has repeatedly refuted Trump’s claim that he could have overturned the presidential election results. Despite that, Trump loyalists have never forgiven Pence, whom they view as a traitor, for refusing to assist the president’s repeated efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Pence in June 2023 launched a presidential campaign of his own, joining a large field of challengers to Trump gunning for the 2024 GOP nomination, becoming the first running mate in over 80 years to run against their former boss.

Pence ran on a traditional conservative platform, framing the future of the Republican Party against what he called the rise of ‘populism’ in the party. 

Among the slim anti-Trump base of the Republican Party, Pence received praise for his courage during the attack on the Capitol, often receiving thanks at town halls during his campaign for standing up to Trump. 

While Pence regularly campaigned in the crucial early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, his White House bid never took off. Struggling in the polls and with fundraising, he suspended his campaign just four and a half months after declaring his candidacy.