Amid Jerusalem furor, Pence puts visit on hold

The vice president, citing the upcoming tax vote, will now go to the Middle East in mid-January.

The White House announced Monday that Vice President Mike Pence is delaying a planned trip to the Middle East in case his vote is needed to pass tax legislation a move that also comes — amid uproar over the Trump administration’s controversial decision to recognize Jerusa- lem as the capital of Israel.

Pence was scheduled to leave today, arriving in Egypt on Wednesday for a bilateral meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. From there he was scheduled to visit Israel before traveling to Germany to meet with U.S. troops stationed there.

Pence’s office said Monday the trip was being delayed so he can stay in Washington until votes on the tax cut legislation are completed. He is now expected to travel to the Middle East during the week of Jan. 14, according to senior White House officials.

“The vice president is committed to seeing the tax cut through to the finish line,” said Pence’s press secretary, Alyssa Farah.

Pence would potentially have to break a tie vote in the Senate on the tax bill, but that scenario became more remote Monday after Sen. Susan Col- lins, R-Maine, announced her support for the bill.

The vice president’s trip has been complicated due to the uproar in the Middle East over President Trump’s recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Earlier this month Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would not meet with Pence on his trip due to this announcement.

The Jerusalem decision — which also included eventually moving the U.S. Embassy there — also sparked widespread opposition among Christians in the Middle East and complicated another aspect of Pence’s trip. The pope of the Egyptian Coptic Church, who leads the largest Christian denomination in the Middle East, also canceled his planned meeting in Cairo with the vice president.