Vice President Mike Pence's office is denying that he is the senior administration official behind an extraordinary, anonymous opinion essay describing a "resistance" against President Donald Trump within his own administration, which was published by The New York Times.
The article's publication set off a wave of intense speculation about the author's identity. Observers seized on the essayist's use of the word "lodestar," which Pence often uses in his speeches and statements, as possible evidence the op-ed came from the vice president or among his top staff.
The vice president's office "definitely denies" that he wrote the piece for the Times, according to NBC News.
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This morning, a top Pence communications official rejected the notion as well. "The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds," Jarrod Agen wrote on Twitter.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also denied that he wrote the essay. "It's not mine," Pompeo told reporters in India, after ripping the Times for publishing the piece.
The op-ed, which the Times published late Wednesday afternoon, describes a coordinated effort within the administration to undermine Trump, whom he or she described as "amoral," and "frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations." The author also wrote that this internal resistance wants the administration to succeed, while praising some policy victories, such as a broad tax cut package last year.
The Times, in turn, defended its rationale for writing the column by saying, "publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers."
Trump has responded to the piece by lashing out at the media and the anonymous author. NBC News reported that several of the president's aides and allies have described his mood as "volcanic."
The president continued venting his rage and frustration Thursday morning on Twitter.
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