Mike Pence's LA-Area Visit Expected To Slow Down Traffic

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Los Angeles-area commuters may experience traffic delays this afternoon, courtesy of the Vice President. Mike Pence will be traveling from the Los Angeles area to Beverly Hills, in order to attend a roundtable discussion around 5 p.m. Monday, although the exact location has not been disclosed. Motorists in the area should plan for additional commute time or find an alternate route if possible.

Pence arrived Saturday afternoon and spent the night in the Los Angeles area. He was scheduled to head south Monday morning to visit Calexico in Imperial County to inspect the construction of a barrier that began nearly a decade ago along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the White House. He'll be returning to the L.A. area later Monday.

After receiving a briefing on the construction of the border wall from U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, Pence is expected to speak to Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol employees in Imperial.

Plans for the Calexico border wall, a replacement barrier, began in 2009, the Los Angeles Times reported. CBP officials have emphasized the Calexico border barrier shouldn't be confused with the yet-to-be-built wall that Trump made a central promise of his presidential campaign.

Air Force Two is scheduled to arrive at the Naval Air Facility in El Centro at 10:20 a.m. Pence is expected to immediately tour the barrier construction site joined by Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez, Director of Field Operations Pete Flores and Yuma Branch Director Sylvia Carrizozo.

At 11:30, the vice president is scheduled to deliver remarks to DHS and Border Patrol personnel.

Pence will make his way to Imperial County from Los Angeles, where he arrived Saturday afternoon for two political fundraisers and a private tour of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. Following Saturday's tour, Pence, the chairman of the National Space Council, posted photos and comments about his visit to the laboratory on Twitter.

"Inspiring visit to Jet Propulsion Laboratory! Thanks to the team at @NASAJPL for your leadership in unmanned space exploration since 1957! Under @POTUS Trump, America is leading in space again!"

The visit came one week before the launch of NASA's next mission to Mars, dubbed InSight, which is short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Godesay and Heat Transport. The mission will be the first to peer deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes, seismic events similar to earthquakes.

InSight will be the first planetary mission to take off from the West Coast, launching from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc.

Pence and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, headlined a fundraising brunch at noon Sunday at the Malibu home of lawyer and financier Marc Stern and his wife Eva, according to an invitation posted on the political news website Politico.

Tickets for the event started at $10,000 per couple, according to the invitation. Other ticket packages were available for $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000 per couple. Some of those packages also included tickets to this afternoon's roundtable discussion in Beverly Hills.

If the Republicans hang onto the House, McCarthy is considered a strong contender to replace Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, who is stepping down as Speaker of the House.

City News Service and Patch staffer Emily Holland contributed to this post; Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Vice President Mike Pence and Karen Pence arrive at the White House for a state dinner April 24, 2018 in Washington, DC . President Donald Trump is hosting French President Emmanuel Macron for the first state visit of his presidency. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)