THAT "DIFFERENT" IS REDUNDANT:

Pence and his team bring an entirely different ethos and set of values to the administration. The vice president's emphasis on limited government and his conservative social views are distinct from the America First-style populism of Trump or top advisers like Steve Bannon, creating a divide that could influence policymaking on health care, education and social issues.

Members of Pence's tight-knit inner circle, such as longtime aide Josh Pitcock, now Pence's chief of staff, hold key positions both in Pence's office and across the Trump administration. Ex-Hill aide Marc Short is the White House's liaison to Congress, and Pence political advisers Nick Ayers and Marty Obst are helping to run Trump's new nonprofit political arm, which was created to boost the president's agenda, and brought on Pence's nephew, John Pence, as deputy executive director.

"Vice Present Pence surrounds himself with true conservatives," said a former staffer from his days leading the GOP House Conference. "He did when he was on the Hill, and again in Indiana. That some of them are now in the administration bolsters the case that conservative principles will significantly undergird the president's agenda to change Washington."

Former employees interviewed by POLITICO describe Pence as a manager who values humility, self-discipline and employees who follow marching orders. Pence's top aides tend to be deeply conservative and, like the vice president, evangelical Christians. Short and Ayers are devout church-goers. Pence also encourages staff to balance work with a focus on family, which stems from his deep faith.

For Pence's political foes, the influx of Hoosiers to the Trump administration is troubling for precisely that reason. His term as governor was marked by clashes spurred by his conservatism, said Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody.

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