Pence to be honored with ‘Profile in Courage Award' from JFK Library
Former Vice President Pence will receive the '2025 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award' for his role in certifying the 2020 presidential election despite facing grave personal and political risk.
The JFK Library Foundation, which presents the honor each year, announced on Thursday the 2025 award will go to Pence 'for putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on January 6, 2021.'
Caroline Kennedy and Jack Schlossberg — the late president's daughter and grandson, respectively — will present Pence with the award at the JFK Library and Museum in Boston, Mass., on May 4, 2025.
Kennedy and Schlossberg, who both sit on the bipartisan committee that selects the award's recipients, issued a joint statement praising Pence for 'putting country first, and not backing down.'
'Despite our political differences, it is hard to imagine an act of greater consequence than Vice President Pence's decision to certify the 2020 presidential election during an attack on the U.S. Capitol,' they wrote in the statement. 'Upholding his oath to the Constitution and following his conscience, the Vice President put his life, career, and political future on the line.'
'His decision is an example of President Kennedy's belief that an act of political courage can change the course of history,' they added.
In the aftermath of President Trump's 2020 election loss, Pence faced pressure to use his ceremonial role in counting the certified electoral votes as vice president to overturn the results of the election. Pence refused, noting he did not have the authority to do so, and he was targeted by Trump supporters, some of whom built a makeshift gallows at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and called for his hanging.
Pence said in a statement he is honored to receive the award.
'I am deeply humbled and honored to be the recipient of the Kennedy Profile in Courage Award,' Pence said in a statement. 'I have been inspired by the life and words of President John F. Kennedy since my youth and am honored to join the company of so many distinguished Americans who have received this recognition in the past.'
The award has been granted in recent years to public figures including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), former Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams (S), South Carolina state senators, and leaders of South Korea and Japan, among others.
The award is named for the late president's 1957 Pulitzer-Prize winning book, 'Profiles in Courage,' which highlights eight senators 'who risked their careers, incurring the wrath of constituents or powerful interest groups, by taking principled stands for unpopular positions.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
22 minutes ago
- The Hill
NIH scientists condemn Trump research cuts
Hundreds of staffers from across the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are speaking out against the politicization of their research and termination of their work while demanding that the drastic changes made at the agency be walked back. In a letter addressed to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, more than 2,000 signatories stated, 'we dissent to Administration policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.' The letter was titled 'The Bethesda Declaration' in reference to where NIH's campus is located. The signatories cited Bhattacharya's stated commitment to academic freedom that he made in April and called on him to push back against the changes Trump administration has implemented at NIH under his leadership. 'Academic freedom should not be applied selectively based on political ideology. To achieve political aims, NIH has targeted multiple universities with indiscriminate grant terminations, payment freezes for ongoing research, and blanket holds on awards regardless of the quality, progress, or impact of the science,' they wrote. They pointed to U.S. law and prior research that has shown that the participation of diverse populations in studies is necessary for NIH's work. The NIH staffers further blasted the canceling of nearly completed studies. 'Ending a $5 million research study when it is 80% complete does not save $1 million, it wastes $4 million,' they wrote. The researchers called on Bhattacharya to restore foreign collaborations with the global scientific community, put independent peer reviews back in place, bring back terminated NIH staffers and rethink the 15 percent cap on indirect study costs that the Trump administration enacted. 'Combined, these actions have resulted in an unprecedented reduction in NIH spending that does not reflect efficiency but rather a dramatic reduction in life-saving research,' they stated. 'Some may use the false impression that NIH funding is not needed to justify the draconian cuts proposed in the President's Budget. This spending slowdown reflects a failure of your legal duty to use congressionally-appropriated funds for critical NIH research.' NIH research is not solely centered in Bethesda. The agency is responsible for funding research projects across the country and abroad. Numerous lawsuits have been filed to combat the pulling back of billions of dollars in NIH funding. Last week, a federal judge allowed a suit filed by university researchers and public health groups challenging the cuts to move forward. Bhattacharya responded to the letter on the social media platform X. 'We all want @NIH to succeed and I believe that dissent in science is productive. However, the Bethesda Declaration has some fundamental misconceptions about the policy directions NIH has taken in recent months,' he wrote. Bhattacharya said the actions taken at NIH have been to 'remove ideological influence from science' and further argued the agency hasn't halted international scientific collaboration but is instead 'ensuring accountability.' 'Claims that NIH is undermining peer review are misunderstood. We're expanding access to publishing while strengthening transparency, rigor, and reproducibility in NIH-funded research,' he wrote. 'Lastly, we are reviewing each termination case carefully and some individuals have already been reinstated. As NIH priorities evolve, so must our staffing to stay mission-focused and responsibly manage taxpayer dollars.'
The Hill
26 minutes ago
- The Hill
Canada plans to hit NATO spending target early and reduce reliance on US defense, Carney says
TORONTO (AP) — Canada will meet NATO's military spending guideline by early next year and diversify defense spending away from the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday, asserting that Washington no longer plays a predominant role on the world stage. The announcement means Canada will achieve NATO's spending target of 2% of gross domestic product five years earlier than previously planned. 'Our military infrastructure and equipment have aged, hindering our military preparedness,' Carney said. 'Only one of our four submarines is seaworthy. Less than half of our maritime fleet and land vehicles are operational. More broadly, we are too reliant on the United States.' According to NATO figures, Canada was estimated to be spending 1.33% of GDP on its military budget in 2023, below the 2% target that NATO countries have set for themselves. Canada previously said it was on track to meet NATO's target by the end of the decade. 'Our goal is to protect Canadians, not to satisfy NATO accountants,' Carney said in a speech at the University of Toronto. Canada is about to host U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders at a summit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations in Alberta on June 15-17, and before the NATO summit in Europe. NATO allies are poised to increase the commitment well beyond the 2% target. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said last week that most U.S. allies at NATO endorse Trump's demand that they invest 5% of gross domestic product on their defense needs and are ready to ramp up security spending even more. 'We are meeting 2%. And that is the NATO target as it is today,' Carney said at a later news conference. 'We will need to spend more.' He said there will be discussions on the increased spending amount and its timeline at the NATO summit. Carney has said he intends to diversify Canada's procurement and enhance the country's relationship with the EU. 'We should no longer send three-quarters of our defense capital spending to America,' Carney said in a speech at the University of Toronto. 'We will invest in new submarines, aircraft, ships, armed vehicles and artillery, as well as new radar, drones and sensors to monitor the seafloor and the Arctic.' Canada has been in discussions with the European Union to join an EU drive to break its security dependency on the United States, with a focus on buying more defense equipment, including fighter jets, in Europe. Carney's government is reviewing the purchase of U.S. F-35 fighter jets to see if there are other options. 'We stood shoulder to shoulder with the Americans throughout the Cold War and in the decades that followed, as the United States played a predominant role on the world stage. Today, that predominance is a thing of the past,' Carney said in French, one of Canada's official languages. He added that with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the United States became the global hegemon, noting that its strong gravitational pull became virtually irresistible and made the U.S. 'our closest ally and dominant trading partner.' 'Now the United States is beginning to monetize its hegemony: charging for access to its markets and reducing its relative contributions to our collective security,' Carney said. Carney later said at the news conference that it was 'understandable' that the U.S. is providing a lower degree of security. 'So we are stepping up,' he said. Trump's calls to make Canada the 51st U.S. state have infuriated Canadians, and Carney won the job of prime minister after promising to confront the increased aggression shown by Trump. The prime minister said 'a new imperialism threatens.' 'Middle powers compete for interests and attention, knowing that if they are not at the table, they will be on the menu,' Carney said during his speech. Carney said the long-held view that Canada's geographic location will protect Canadians is increasingly archaic. European allies and Canada have already been investing heavily in their armed forces, as well as on weapons and ammunition, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
New York Post
32 minutes ago
- New York Post
Behind the scenes of Trump's ‘iconic' McDonald's visit before election victory: ‘That was epic'
Fox Nation is offering a rare glimpse into Donald Trump's pivotal McDonald's visit during the final weeks of his 2024 campaign with a multi-episode installment of 'The Art of the Surge.' It all starts at a McDonald's drive-thru, where the then-GOP nominee traded a suit for an apron and got to work as a fry cook in Feasterville, Pennsylvania last October. Advertisement 'I've always wanted to work at McDonald's, and I never did,' he told workers inside the building. The first episode of the series documents Trump's 'first day' on the job from the very beginning, as he requested to work the french fry cooker and learned the process. He walked through, step-by-step, dunking fries into hot oil, shaking the basket, pouring servings into the signature red McDonald's cartons and sprinkling salt over them. It became an iconic moment on the campaign trail as the notorious New York City business magnate-turned-president performed a job many Americans have had at one point in their lives. Advertisement He even greeted customers wrapped around the building at the drive-thru window. As one family took a Happy Meal from his hands he quipped with a smile, 'It's going to be the best you've ever had. It had better be. I made it myself.' 3 President Trump waving to customers from a McDonald's drive-thru window during a campaign stop in Feasterville-Trevose, Pa. on October 20, 2024. Getty Images Customers passed on their messages of encouragement as the high-stakes faceoff with then-vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris was merely two weeks away, with both teams in a mad sprint to the finish line. Advertisement 'Make America great again!' one driver said. Another, shaking hands with Trump, said, '45-47, you've got this, sir.' 3 Trump filling and order of french fries at the Pennsylvania McDonald's. Photo by Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images Trump paused, on occasion, to wave at the mass of fans cheering and holding 'Trump-Vance' signs nearby. He told WTXF reporter JoAnn Pileggi that the crowd was smiling and upbeat because they wanted hope. Advertisement Turning back inside the building, he faced the camera at one point and smiled as he noted how much fun he was having. 'I could do this all day. I wouldn't mind this job,' he said. 3 Trump serving a customer an order at the drive-thru window. Photo byTrump's efforts were viewed by many as a mockery of a claim his opponent had worked for the fast food chain while in college. At one point, Trump even remarked, 'I've now worked for 15 minutes. Fifteen more than Kamala.' As his team departed on his personal plane, Trump's deputy director of communications Margo Martin enthused about the day. 'That was epic,' she said. Advertisement 'Donald Trump working the McDonald's drive-thru – iconic.' Trump would go on to defeat Harris in the 2024 election, sweeping all campaign swing states, including Pennsylvania.
