WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President-elect Mike Pence is claiming a governing mandate for the Trump administration, calling on conservative activists to help the incoming White House pass an ambitiously conservative agenda.
Pence made little reference to still-simmering national divides in his address at a Tuesday night event honoring top donors to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that’s working closely with Donald Trump’s transition effort.
“We truly do believe that our president-elect has secured a mandate for leadership,” he said.
Despite winning the electoral vote, Trump is 2.6 million behind Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in the popular vote. Clinton’s lead there has sparked calls from Democrats to abolish the Electoral College.
Pence spoke in the “presidential ballroom” of Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel.
