Citing tax vote, Pence delays trip to Israel and Egypt

(Image credit: Pool/Getty Images)

published 18 December 2017

Vice President Mike Pence has delayed his trip to Israel and Egypt in case he needs to cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate when it comes time to vote on the GOP tax bill.

Pence was set to leave on Tuesday, but will instead depart in January, his office said. Alyssa Farah, Pence's press secretary, said in a statement the vice president is "committed to seeing the tax cut through to the finish line." Republicans have stated they are certain they have enough votes to pass the tax overhaul, despite having just a 52-48 majority and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) likely missing the vote. They are hoping to have a vote sometime this week.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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