Pence delays Mideast visit amid anger over Jerusalem shift

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As a crunch tax vote on Capitol Hill looms and anger in the region over Washington's policy shift on Jerusalem persists, US Vice President Mike Pence has delayed a visit to the Middle East, the White House said Monday.

Pence had been scheduled to depart on Tuesday night for Cairo. Instead, the trip will be rescheduled for the week of January 14, officials told reporters.

"The vice president is committed to seeing the tax cut through to the finish line," said Alyssa Farah, a spokeswoman for Pence. “The vice president looks forward to traveling to Egypt and Israel in January.”

US President Donald Trump speaks as Vice President Mike Pence looks on during a meeting with Congressional leadership in the Oval Office of the White House on December 7, 2017 in Washington, DC. /VCG Photo

Pence has been a key figure in the Republican effort to overhaul US tax law. He could provide a tie-breaking vote in the Senate if needed, though on Monday it looked like bill has enough votes among Senate Republicans to pass.

Having failed to clear a series of legislative hurdles, the package is seen as key to Trump's ability to secure support among his base and skittish political donors.

"We have some senators who obviously can't make it there for the vote and the vice president feels that it's important for him to be here for the largest tax cut in history," the official said.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the package on Tuesday with the Senate vote to follow late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Meanwhile, White House officials said the delay was not related to the reaction in the region to Trump’s decision.

Pence was to have spent three days in the region with stops in Cairo and Jerusalem, the first high-level official to visit after Trump reversed decades of US policy and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters