Vice President Mike Pence and conservative billionaire Charles Koch held a 45-minute meeting Friday in Colorado Springs to talk about GOP agenda items such as healthcare and tax reform, the Washington Examiner has confirmed.
The meeting, first reported by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman on Twitter, comes as the Koch network is hosting a three-day retreat starting Saturday in Colorado Springs to develop a strategy for the 2018 election.
The retreat, hosted by the Seminar Network, an umbrella organization backed by Charles Koch and his brother, David, is expected to draw hundreds of conservative donors and Republican politicians.
“We have a tremendous amount of respect for Vice President Pence. Good discussion on a range of issues including the VA [Veterans Affairs] bill that was signed today as well as tax reform,” said James Davis, executive vice president of marketing and communications at Freedom Partners, a nonprofit funded by the Koch brothers, in an email to the Washington Examiner. He also confirmed healthcare was discussed.
Davis said other participants in the meeting included Seminar Network co-chairs Mark Holden and Brian Hooks and Americans for Prosperity President Tim Philips. Marc Short, director of legislative affairs for President Trump, and Marty Obst, a Pence aide, also joined the meeting.
According to the The Denver Post, Pence was scheduled to be in Colorado Springs for a series of events, including a fundraiser for Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.
