Vice President Mike Pence visited two U.S Navy bases in San Diego Thursday, witnessed the unloading of seized drugs off a Coast Guard cutter, and attended a fundraising dinner for President Donald Trump's re-election campaign.
During his stop in San Diego, Pence visited U.S. Naval Amphibious Base Coronado and Naval Air Station North Island. At the Naval Air Station, Pence attended the offloading of what the Coast Guard says are more than 39,000 pounds of cocaine and 933 pounds of marijuana worth a combined estimated $569 million from the cutter Munro, which is normally homeported in Alameda. The drugs were seized in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The vice president were accompanied by James W. Carroll, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; Uttam Dhillon, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area.
Although Pence has not visited San Diego County in an official capacity since taking office in January 2017, he traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border in Calexico, located about 100 miles east of San Diego in Imperial County, in April 2018 to discuss immigration policy and view renovated areas of border fencing.
"We are thrilled to have @VP @Mike_Pence visit San Diego," Republican Party of San Diego County Chairman Tony Krvaric wrote in a Twitter post. "All fair-inded San Diegans will acknowledge that the Trump-Pence administration's policies have ushered in unprecedented economic growth and support for our military service members."
Pence arrived in San Diego Wednesday night after visiting Naval Air Station Lemoore and Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc. The stop is part of a three-day swing through California and Texas to visit constituents and military bases.
On Friday, Pence will visit the Donna immigrant detention facility in McAllen, Texas, with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
