Pence strikes out on his own by building electoral war chest

Amid the chaos of the Trump administration, Vice-President Mike Pence has stealthily started building his own fundraising campaign.

Pence launched the Great America Committee, a political action committee (PAC) which is basically a political war chest. It will enable him to channel money to Republican members of Congress in the lead-up to the 2018 mid-term elections.

The committee's registration was posted yesterday on the US Federal Election Commission website, reports Bloomberg.

It's an unusual move for a vice-president, his two immediate predecessors - Jo Biden and Dick Cheney - did not have a PAC. But George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan's vice-president, formed one when he was preparing for his 1988 presidential tilt.

Nick Ayers, a top Pence adviser in the 2016 US presidential campaign will run the PAC.

"The vice-president is playing a leading role in passing legislation on the Hill [Congress],” he said.

“He wants to support House and Senate members who are helping pass the president’s agenda.”

Under US election law, a PAC can raise up to $US5000 ($6700) per year from individual donor and other federal PACs.

The move comes as US President Donald Trump is embroiled in controversy following reports he asked axed FBI director James Comey to drop an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and his links to Russia.

The Trump administration is also facing a tough task in having its overhaul of the tax code and healthcare reforms pass through Congress.