Former Vice President Mike Pence is stepping up his public activity in support of the Republican Party and GOP candidates, and continuing to build upon U.S. diplomacy in Israel.
Fox News Digital has learned that Pence will head to Long Island, New York, to fundraise for Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin, the leading contender for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in the Empire State. The former vice president is expected to raise at least half a million dollars for Zeldin during the event, according to a source close to Pence.
Then, on March 7 Pence will depart to Israel to speak at Ariel University in Israel, and receive an honorary degree. Former Ambassador David Friedman is also being recognized at the event.
Former Vice President Mike Pence gives remarks to a small crowd on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 at Columbus Municipal Airport in Columbus, Indiana.
While in Israel, Pence will also meet with sitting Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and separately with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Pence will also pay respects to the widow of Sheldon Adelson, a business magnate who made his fortune developing property in Las Vegas. He was a major GOP donor and a key financier of pro-Israeli efforts. Adelson passed away last month at the age of 87.
The former vice president has been a consistent supporter of Israel in U.S. policy and diplomacy throughout his career. In November 2021, Pence condemned President Biden over his administration's treatment of Israel.
"Make no mistake about it, President Joe Biden has turned his back on Israel," Pence charged as he addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition's influential annual leadership meeting.
Biden has "restored funding for the Palestinian Authority, announced his intention to rejoin the Iran Nuclear Deal, and now the Biden administration is planning to open a consulate in Jerusalem for the Palestinian people," Pence told the gathering.
Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., at a press conference on May 20, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Pence has also occupied a fluid role in GOP politics since his term as vice president and is ramping up speeches and events in some key early voting states, including South Carolina, Iowa and New Hampshire.
He is set to deliver remarks at a private Christian university's commencement ceremony when he returns in late April to South Carolina, the state that holds the third contest in the Republican Party’s presidential nominating calendar. In addition, he will return to South Carolina in May to address a dinner on behalf of the Carolina Pregnancy Center, a Christian facility that provides counseling, supplies and adoption services to women who decide to go through with unplanned pregnancies.
Pence also recently concluded two trips to New Hampshire, the state that hosts the first presidential election primary., and attended the Feenstra Family Picnic over the summer in Iowa.
The multiple stops in the early voting states have sparked considerable speculation that Pence is likely gearing up for a bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
The Indiana Republican has also hit the campaign trail in Virginia, in support of newly elected Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, endorsed Indiana Sen. Todd Young's senate re-election campaign and spoke at a NRCC event thrown by GOP Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
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Despite his work on behalf of the Republican Party, Pence remains at odds with many Trump supporters, and the former president himself, who continue to insist without evidence that the 2020 presidential election was illegitimate.
Pence even recently called the former president out by name during a speech earlier this month, saying "President Trump is wrong."
"I heard this week, President Trump said I had the right to ‘overturn the election’. President Trump is wrong … I had no right to overturn the election," Pence said to conservative lawyers at a Federalist Society event.
Vice President Mike Pence is in the Capitol during the certification of Electoral College ballots in the presidential election, (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Zeldin will also reportedly be holding a fundraiser at Trump's Mar-a-Lago at the start of April.
Fox News' Brie Stimson and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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