Pence to visit Middle East despite shutdown threat

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will still head to the Middle East late Friday, despite the threat of a federal government shutdown looming over Washington, his spokeswoman clarified, according to AFP.

"The vice president's meetings with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, and Israel are integral to America's national security and diplomatic objectives," his press secretary Alyssa Farah told the news agency.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)