FEC Approves $614,000 in Taxpayer Funds to Help Pence Pay Campaign Debts

Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a luncheon hosted by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission during a Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Indianapolis on June 11, 2024. AP Photo/Doug McSchooler

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) approved a payment of about $614,000 in taxpayer funds to former Vice President Mike Pence to pay debts incurred during his brief presidential run.

During a July 25 open commission meeting, the FEC’s six-member bipartisan commission certified the six-figure payment to Mr. Pence out of the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. That follows a $100,000 transfer from the U.S. Treasury in May.

Mr. Pence, who served under former President Donald Trump, dropped his bid for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in October 2023.

According to its latest disclosure statement filed with the agency, Mr. Pence’s principal campaign committee, Mike Pence for President, owes just under $1.3 million to various consultants and printing companies for costs incurred during his four-month presidential run.

The same disclosure form, filed July 20, said the committee still held about $194,000 in cash on hand at the end of June. The filing shows the campaign is refunding its donors. It sent out about $511,000—primarily in refunds—in June.

The FEC previously announced that Mr. Pence’s campaign committee stayed within the prescribed limits to receive matching public funds. It raised at least $100,000 by collecting $5,000 in 20 different states and agreed to spending limits set by the FEC.

An FEC official previously told The Epoch Times that Mr. Pence’s payments may be used for qualified campaign expenses, including winding down costs.

Few presidential candidates apply to receive public funding for their campaigns, and Mr. Pence is the only candidate from the 2024 cycle to do so.

According to data shared by the FEC in May, only habitual Green Party candidate Jill Stein and one-time Democratic Party candidate Martin O‘Malley participated in 2016. Mr. O’Malley is the current commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Ms. Stein is currently running on the Green Party ticket.

Pence’s Project

Mr. Pence, the governor of Indiana from 2014 to 2017 and a former member of the House, fell out of favor with the Republican Party after former President Trump criticized him for certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Former President Trump received his third presidential nomination from the Republican Party during the Republican National Convention in July. This time around, he is running with Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). Mr. Pence did not appear at the convention.

In February, Mr. Pence announced he was starting a policy and advocacy initiative called the American Solutions Project through his 501(c)(4) nonprofit, Advancing American Freedom Inc. The project said it wanted to spend $20 million in 2024.

According to a Feb. 21 announcement from Advancing American Freedom, Mr. Pence’s current initiative focuses on tax policy, promoting free trade, defeating the Chinese Communist Party, restoring U.S. global leadership, and promoting the U.S. energy industry.

In June, Advancing American Freedom said it was launching a $10 million “nationwide grassroots education campaign” to defend tax cuts made during the years former President Trump was in the White House.

“Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem,” Mr. Pence said in a June release. “Our national debt is out of control, and taxing the American people more is not the solution.”

Advancing American Freedom calls Mr. Pence its founder, but he was not listed as an officer or employee in its most recent tax filing.

Representatives of Mr. Pence did not respond to a request for comment before publication.