WASHINGTON _ With the swearing-in of his successor as Indiana governor on Monday, Mike Pence began a roughly two-week period of unemployment. But Vice President Joe Biden sent him a pick-me-up. Literally.
The Republican vice president-elect arrived in the Washington area Monday aboard a blue-and-white jet similar to the one he will regularly use to travel the country: Air Force Two.
Pence thanked Biden for arranging the government aircraft to pick up him, his family and their pets _ including the hilariously named bunny Marlon Bundo.
Pence has already been a regular presence in Washington since the election, and met just last week with Republicans on Capitol Hill. He had continued to serve as Indiana's governor until Monday when his elected successor, Republican Eric Holcomb, took the oath of office.
Biden is making full use of Air Force Two as he prepares to end his eight years as the second-in-command. After a trip to Los Angeles on Sunday he's en route to San Francisco and then on to Detroit on Monday. On Tuesday, he's to fly to Chicago to attend President Barack Obama's farewell address before returning to Washington.
A spokesman for the vice president said arranging a jet for Pence was a routine matter. Biden himself arrived in Washington eight years ago on a train, joining then-President-elect Obama on a whistle-stop trip ahead of their inauguration.
