Mike Pence rises as Mike Flynn falls

Another Pence ally said, “I hope they get rid of Flynn for Pence’s sake,” hours before the resignation.

“How much power does Pence really have?” a source with ties to the administration said Monday afternoon. “There’s a difference between being in the room and being able to move things.”

For Republicans who spent much of the campaign skeptical of Trump, his choice of Pence as vice president and his subsequent cabinet picks were cause for growing confidence. Many Republicans who remained uncertain about Trump himself were enthused by his cabinet picks. Flynn represented a different kind of pick: a loyal Trump adviser, an advocate of a much closer relationship with Russia, and a virulent critic of Islam. His being forced to resign — and so early in the administration — deals a blow to Trump’s oft-repeated insistence that he picks only the best…

Jeffrey Lord, a former Reagan administration official and CNN commentator who supported Trump during the general election, said the resignation is a signal that Pence is a powerful player in the young administration.