Mike Pence

Michael Richard Pence was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States. He was previously the 50th governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017 and a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013. He was the younger brother of U.S. representative Greg Pence.

Political Career
Born and raised in Columbus, Indiana, Pence graduated from Hanover College and earned a law degree from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law before entering private practice. After losing two bids for a U.S. congressional seat in 1988 and 1990, he became a conservative radio and television talk show host from 1994 to 1999. Pence was elected to the United States Congress in 2000 and represented Indiana's 2nd congressional district and Indiana's 6th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013. He served as the chairman of the House Republican Conference from 2009 to 2011. Pence described himself as a "principled conservative" and supporter of the Tea Party movement,] stating that he was "a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order."

Pence successfully sought the Republican nomination for the 2012 Indiana gubernatorial election when term-limited Mitch Daniels retired. He defeated former speaker John R. Gregg in the closest gubernatorial election in 50 years. Upon becoming governor in January 2013, Pence initiated the largest tax cut in Indiana's history and pushed for more funding for education initiatives. Pence signed bills intended to restrict abortions, including one that prohibited abortions if the reason for the procedure was the fetus's race, gender, or disability. After Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), he encountered fierce resistance from moderate members of his party, the business community, and LGBT advocates. The backlash against the RFRA led Pence to amend the bill to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and other criteria.

Pence was inaugurated as vice president of the United States on January 20, 2017. He had withdrawn his gubernatorial reelection campaign in July to become the running mate of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who went on to win the presidential election on November 8, 2016.

Death
Mike Pence was visiting the Warsaw Pocket in January 2020, meeting American servicemen and awarding honours to various soldiers. On the 3rd of February, Pence departed from Warsaw in a large cargo plane before it was shot down over Commonwealth territory near Stalowa Wola.

The Mike Pence Crisis occurred as a result. Pence's aircraft was located by Commonwealth troops and taken hostage by the Black Guard who executed 10 US soldiers that were also on board. Several minutes later, Pence was confirmed dead.