According to Fox News reporter Rob DiRienzo, Vice President Mike Pence was called back to the White House for an “emergency” on Tuesday morning.
The VP was supposed to attend an event in New Hampshire regarding the opioid crises, but that has been cancelled.
“Per [Rob DiRienzo]: We were just informed that Vice President Pence was called back to the White House for an emergency. Air Force 2 was diverted,” said Fox News producer Pat Ward via Twitter.
“His scheduled event in Salem, NH has been canceled,” added Ward.
NBC10 Boston similarly reported on Pence’s turn back to the White House:
Pence had been scheduled to land in Manchester around 11:25 a.m., which is about the time the news broke that his event had been canceled.
Air Force 2 was reportedly turned around due to an emergency. No further information was immediately available.
“Pence’s one-day trip was to include a meeting with alumni and former patients at the Granite Recovery Center headquarters in Manchester. Afterward, he was scheduled to speak about New Hampshire’s opioid crisis,” the outlet noted.
UPDATE (12:15 p.m.):
ABC News White House and Capitol Hill reporter Katherine Faulders said a senior administration official told her “there should be no cause for alarm” and ruled out any “medical issue with POTUS or VP.”
“I am told that [VP] Pence’s New Hampshire opiod event was cancelled because something came up and he had to be back at the White House. Official says it is not a cause for alarm,” wrote Faulders via Twitter.
“A senior administration official reiterates there should be no cause for alarm. Says there is also no medical issue with POTUS or VP,” the reporter said in a follow-up tweet.
UPDATE:
Alyssa Farah, the press secretary for Vice President Pence, confirmed on Tuesday that Mr. Pence “never left Washington, DC. There was no ’emergency callback.’ Something came up that required the VP to stay in DC. We’ll reschedule NH shortly.”