FEC Approves $614,000 in Taxpayer Funds to Aid Pence in Settling Campaign Debts

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has authorized a payment of approximately $614,000 in taxpayer funds to former Vice President Mike Pence to cover debts from his short-lived presidential campaign.

During a July 25 open meeting, the Federal Election Commission’s six-member bipartisan panel approved a six-figure payment to Mr. Pence from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. This comes after 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 the latest disclosure statement filed with the agency, Mike Pence’s principal campaign committee, Mike Pence for President, owes nearly $1.3 million to various consultants and printing companies for expenses incurred during his four-month presidential campaign.

The same disclosure form, filed on July 20, reported that the committee had around $194,000 in cash on hand at the end of June. The filing indicates that the campaign is issuing refunds to its donors, with approximately $511,000—mostly in refunds—sent out in June.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) previously announced that Mike Pence’s campaign committee met the requirements to receive matching public funds.

The committee raised at least $100,000 by collecting $5,000 in contributions from 20 different states and agreed to adhere to the spending limits established by the FEC.

An FEC official previously said 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 released by the FEC in May, only perennial Green Party candidate Jill Stein and former Democratic Party candidate Martin O’Malley participated in 2016.

O’Malley currently serves as the commissioner of the Social Security Administration, while Stein is once again running on the Green Party ticket.

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