Former Vice President Mike Pence is heading back to school.

Pence, who served as vice president during President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House but who later ran against his former boss in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, is joining George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government as a distinguished professor of practice.

The northern Virginia-based school said that Pence will begin teaching undergraduate courses and public-facing seminars starting in next year’s spring semester.

The school, in a Tuesday announcement, also said that Pence will be available via moderated discussions and mentorship programs with students pursuing degrees in political science, law, public administration and related fields.

Schar School Dean Mark Rozell said that the former vice president’s ‘disciplined approach to communication and his deeply rooted conservative philosophy provide a principled framework to discussions of federalism, the separation of powers, and the role of values in public life.’

And Pence, in a statement, said that ‘throughout my years of public service, I have seen firsthand the importance of principled leadership and fidelity to the Constitution in shaping the future of our nation. I look forward to sharing these lessons with the next generation of American leaders and learning from the remarkable students and faculty of George Mason University.’

The now-66-year-old Pence, a former congressman, was Indiana’s governor when Trump named him his running mate in 2016. For four years, Pence served as the loyal vice president to Trump during the president’s first term in the White House.

However, everything changed on Jan. 6, 2021, as pro-Trump protesters — including some chanting ‘hang Mike Pence’ — stormed the U.S. Capitol aiming to upend congressional certification of now-former President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, a process overseen by Pence in his constitutional role as vice president. 

The attack on the Capitol took place soon after Trump spoke to a large rally of supporters near the White House about unproven claims that the 2020 election was ‘rigged’ due to massive ‘voter fraud.’

Pence rejected the advice of the Secret Service that he flee the Capitol, and after the rioters were eventually removed from the Capitol, he resumed his constitutional role in overseeing the congressional certification ceremony.

The former vice president has repeatedly refuted Trump’s claim that he could have overturned the presidential election results. Despite that, Trump loyalists have never forgiven Pence, whom they view as a traitor, for refusing to assist the president’s repeated efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Pence in June 2023 launched a presidential campaign of his own, joining a large field of challengers to Trump gunning for the 2024 GOP nomination, becoming the first running mate in over 80 years to run against their former boss.

Pence ran on a traditional conservative platform, framing the future of the Republican Party against what he called the rise of ‘populism’ in the party. 

Among the slim anti-Trump base of the Republican Party, Pence received praise for his courage during the attack on the Capitol, often receiving thanks at town halls during his campaign for standing up to Trump. 

While Pence regularly campaigned in the crucial early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, his White House bid never took off. Struggling in the polls and with fundraising, he suspended his campaign just four and a half months after declaring his candidacy.

Senate Republicans are calling foul on Senate Democrats’ opposition to the GOP’s short-term plan to keep the government funded, calling it hypocritical. 

House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled their seven-week funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), which congressional Republicans argue is as ‘clean’ as can be. That means that the bill largely lacks any additional spending or policy riders.

But Senate Democrats have dug in deep on their rejection of the proposal, increasing the likelihood of a government shutdown come Sept. 30. It comes after Democrats previously warned Republicans not to use government funding as a political weapon when Democrats were in charge of the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., will ultimately need Democrats to pass a government funding patch. 

He argued that under former President Joe Biden’s administration, Senate Democrats overwhelmingly voted for 13 CRs.

‘Ninety-six percent of the Democrats voted for all 13 of those,’ Thune said. ‘This is, again, a new practice that’s been invented because of Trump Derangement Syndrome, and because these Democrats hate giving this president anything.’  

Senate Republicans are now titling the possibility of a partial government shutdown as a ‘Schumer Shutdown,’ given Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus’ unwillingness to support the GOP-authored bill.

‘Now, all of a sudden, they can’t vote for it? It’s ridiculous,’ Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Fox News Digital. ‘That’s exactly where they’re coming from, and it should be called the ‘Schumer Shutdown.’’

When asked why Democrats were entrenched against the Republicans’ bill, given their previous push for clean stopgaps, Schumer argued that ‘we’re in a much different situation’ after the GOP passed President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ the $9 billion clawback of foreign aid and public broadcasting funding, and the administration’s move to claw back an additional $5 billion in foreign aid.

He also ripped Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for not sitting down with him and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to negotiate a spending deal. Thune countered that his office is right around the corner from Schumer’s.

‘They even refuse to have bipartisan negotiations,’ Schumer said. ‘We’ve always had bipartisan negotiations on this. Johnson put his bill in. No Democratic input, and that is why the Republicans are heading for us for a shutdown. We don’t want it.’

Part of the disagreement with the bill also stemmed from Trump’s edict that Republicans shouldn’t ‘even bother’ with Democrats and that ‘we have to get Republican votes.’

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, told Fox News Digital that all Democrats needed was for Trump ‘to take back what he said about the process needing to be more partisan rather than less.’

‘If they go it alone, then it’s not unreasonable for us to say, ‘We wish you the best, but you won’t be getting our votes,’’ Schatz said. 

Despite the saber-rattling, they haven’t said precisely what they dislike about the House GOP’s offering. They say it’s not so much about what’s in the bill, but rather what’s not.

The top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., told Fox News Digital that it was a ‘lack of language on impoundments and the pocket rescission, things like that that we’ve been talking about.’

The other part is that the CR does not contain an extension to ObamaCare premium subsidies passed during the COVID-19 pandemic that are set to expire in December.

Democrats argue that an extension should be attached to the stopgap because insurance providers are teeing up new insurance rates ahead of the Nov. 1 open enrollment start date for the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, argued that lawmakers could wait until November to move on an extension.

‘You can wait,’ Collins said. ‘Because… they can keep the eligibility criteria steady for next year and have the revised eligibility.’

While Schumer and Democrats are expected to give Thune headaches throughout the ordeal, he may have to wrangle some fiscal hawks weary of CRs on his side of the aisle, too. 

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., argued that the spending levels set in the House GOP’s bill were the same as those set under Biden, which Republicans ‘all decried in the election.’

‘So any Republican who votes for this, I guess maybe they should apologize to Biden for being against his spending levels,’ Paul said. ‘Because they’re actually voting for his spending levels now.’

And Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital that he hadn’t thoroughly reviewed the text of the bill yet, but he noted he was not typically a fan of funding extensions.

‘The goal was always that we start having a real budgeting process, and so it’s really frustrating that we haven’t done that,’ he said. 

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump received a full royal welcome from King Charles III following their arrival to Windsor Castle on Tuesday night.

Wednesday’s festivities kicked off with Trump, the first lady and several top U.S. officials participating in a carriage procession with the king, queen and other members of the royal family. Ahead of the couple’s arrival, hundreds of staff worked through the halls and grounds of the nearly 1,000-year-old castle to ensure the monarch welcomed the couple in true royal fashion.

Trump rode in the foremost carriage along with King Charles, while Melania was in a following carriage with the queen. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and special envoy Steve Witkoff also rode in follow-up carriages.

Ahead of his visit, Trump hailed the ‘great honor’ of being hosted by his ‘friend’ at ‘the ultimate’ Windsor Castle for his second state visit, the U.K.’s Standard reported.

‘My relationship is very good with the U.K., and Charles, as you know, who’s now king, is my friend,’ Trump told reporters, quoted by the outlet. ‘It’s the first time this has ever happened where somebody was honored twice. So, it’s a great honor.’

‘And this one’s at Windsor,’ Trump added. ‘And I don’t want to say one’s better than the other, but they say Windsor Castle is the ultimate, right? So, it’s going to be nice.’

‘Primarily it’s to be with Charles and Camilla,’ he continued. ‘They’ve been friends of mine for a long time, long before he was king, and it’s an honor to have this king.’

The centerpiece of Trump’s visit is set to be the banquet in St. George’s Hall. The Waterloo Table, about half the length of a football field, can seat up to 160 guests. The Associated Press reported it takes five full days to set the table, which is laid with more than 4,000 pieces, including 200-year-old silver.

The visit comes as the U.S. and U.K. continue trade negotiations, though the White House has not indicated that any deals will be announced during the event.

Trump is the first U.S. president to be invited for two state visits by a British monarch. The late queen hosted him and Melania in 2019 during his first administration.

Fox News’ Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this report

Turning Point USA has seen a massive surge in inquiries for new college chapters as the organization works to advance Charlie Kirk’s vision following his assassination last week.

Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ said that Turning Point USA (TPUSA) has received more than 54,000 inquiries from people wanting to start new campus chapters. Kolvet said that TPUSA currently has 900 official college chapters and approximately 1,200 high school chapters.

Kolvet, who is also a spokesman for TPUSA, also said the organization has seen an increase in job applications. 

‘I have personally received hundreds of offers to work for us, or to work for free, or to just help, however,’ Kolvet told Fox News Digital. On Wednesday, Kolvet said that ‘lots of job requests’ were still flooding his inbox.

‘Charlie’s vision to have a Club America chapter in every high school in America will come true much, much faster than he could have ever possibly imagined,’ Kolvet wrote on X on Sunday, calling the response to expand Kirk’s mission ‘truly incredible.’

In a separate post, Kolvet wrote, ‘This is the Turning Point.’

Kirk was assassinated during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University on Sept 10. The event was the first in what was supposed to be a series called the ‘American Comeback Tour.’ The charismatic 31-year-old founder of the conservative youth activist group gained recognition for his signature political debates on college campuses. 

Kirk’s celebration of life ceremony is scheduled for Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. President Donald Trump will speak at Kirk’s memorial service along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

On Friday evening, Kirk’s widow galvanized the TPUSA movement and vowed to carry on her husband’s mission.

‘To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,’ Kirk said. ‘I refuse to let that happen. No one will ever forget my husband’s name. And I will make sure of it. It will become stronger. Bolder. Louder and greater than ever,’ Kirk said.

She also said that TPUSA’s annual ‘AmericaFest’ conference in Phoenix this December will continue as scheduled.

Judah Waxelbaum, a former campus activist at Arizona State University for Republican causes, said that the assassination likely awoke a ‘sleeping giant’ and will likely see an increase in members.

Turning Point’s not going anywhere. Turning Point, I think, will probably actually get significantly larger in the wake of what happened to Charlie,’ he told Fox News Digital in an interview on Saturday.

 ‘You couldn’t do youth politics in Arizona, really anywhere in the United States without coming across Charlie Kirk.’

Fox News Digital’s Cameron Arcand contributed to this report.

A moderate House Democrat said he believes both Republicans and his own party have fallen short in their responses to the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

‘I’m disappointed. I wish that there was more effort as a group, Democrats and Republicans, to express condolences for his family and for him, and to express the real sadness that it engenders,’ Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

He warned later, ‘Punch, counter-punch is the natural reaction of most human beings. But we can’t just keep on doing this. It’s very destructive, and it’s a road to ruin.’

Suozzi said he believed leaders, in particular, on both sides of the aisle needed to do more.

‘I don’t think there’s been enough of an effort to try and bring us together,’ he said.

The New York lawmaker was one of a handful of Democrats who attended a memorial vigil in Kirk’s honor called by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., at the U.S. Capitol on Monday.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters that he did not attend because he ‘had a meeting.’

But Suozzi said he spoke with several House Democrats who said they simply were not aware it was happening.

‘I’m not casting blame on anybody, Democrats or Republicans. I don’t know the facts as far as what kind of outreach was made,’ Suozzi said.

‘I do know that I spoke to several members, you know, [Democrats] that I know that attend the bipartisan prayer breakfast, for example. And they said, ‘Oh, I didn’t even know about it.”

Both Jeffries and Johnson have made calls for unity in the wake of Kirk’s killing last week, and lawmakers have expressed bipartisan condemnation of political violence.

But partisan tensions have erupted since then, with Republicans blaming Democrats for their anti-GOP rhetoric and for fomenting the political tension that led to Kirk’s death.

Democrats, in turn, have accused Republicans of similarly inflaming tensions both before and after the assassination.

In the House, scrutiny has been centered on Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after an interview with progressive news outlet Zeteo, where conservatives have accused her of disparaging Kirk’s legacy days after his death.

‘There are a lot of people who are out there talking about him just wanting to have a civil debate,’ Omar said. ‘There is nothing more effed up, you know, like, than to completely pretend that, you know, his words and actions have not been recorded and in existence for the last decade or so.’

The Minnesota progressive also called Kirk’s death ‘mortifying’ and expressed condolences for his wife and young children.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is now moving to force a vote to censure Omar for her comments, a move Suozzi called ‘very unhelpful.’

When asked about Omar’s remarks, Suozzi did not mention her directly but said, ‘I just don’t think that this is the time to be trying to incite more anger for people.’

If he was able to give remarks at Kirk’s vigil, for example, Suozzi said, ‘I would say I didn’t really know Charlie Kirk or much about him before this incident. But like everybody, I’ve been seeing all the media reports since his assassination, and I saw a couple different times people would ask, ‘What, what would you want to be remembered for?’ And he said, ‘I want to be remembered for having the courage to live my faith.’’

‘One of the most difficult concepts that Jesus ever had was to love your enemies,’ Suozzi said. ‘And that’s what we need to be doing right now.’

Suozzi also blamed the current social media environment for fueling divisions.

‘We have to understand that there are very strong forces working against us right now. Social media is, you know, being corrupted, I think, not only by our foreign adversaries, but also by people trying to get political or financial gain,’ he said.

‘I think that we have to be very conscious of the fact that there are people that use our freedom of speech and use our social media … that are just lying and putting up doctored videos and explosive commentary to get us … to hate each other.’