Vice President Pence cancels appearance at Heller fundraiser

Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the grand opening of AFWERX Vegas, a work space for the Air Force program that fosters entrepreneurial innovation engagements, in January. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s decision to send Vice President Mike Pence to South America this week in his stead forced Pence to postpone a planned appearance at a fundraising luncheon in Las Vegas for Nevada Sen. Dean Heller on Friday.

Trump announced on Tuesday that he would not attend the Summit of the Americas Friday and Saturday in Lima, Peru, or travel to Bogota, Colombia, afterward as planned in order to concentrate on the situation in Syria. He instead deputized Pence to represent the U.S. on the trip.

That prompted Heller’s campaign to cancel the fundraising luncheon on Friday, where Pence was to be the special guest. The Heller campaign plans to reschedule the event at a future date.

Pence’s office told the Review-Journal that he will quickly reschedule the trip.

“It’s a priority event and the vice president plans to spend time with Heller in Nevada soon,” said an official from the vice president’s office.

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or at 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Colton Lochhead contributed to this report.