Kennedy family honors Mike Pence for courage on Jan. 6

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday reflected on the importance of the U.S. Constitution while accepting the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on Sunday. The Constitution brings the country together and provides common ground for American people across generations, he said. Caroline Kennedy and Jack Schlossberg presented the award at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. The award committee selected Pence for the honor in recognition of his actions on January 6, 2021, when he oversaw the congressional certification of former President Joe Biden’s election despite pressure from President Donald Trump to throw out the results.

At Sunday’s ceremony, the former vice president said he did his duty to facilitate the peaceful transfer of power. He said he was able to do so only by God’s grace, and he gave the glory and honor to Jesus Christ. He also thanked both Republican and Democratic politicians for coming together on January 6.

What has his relationship with Trump been since then? Pence has become an occasional critic of Trump’s. He wrote a memoir that described their falling out and later declined to support Trump’s 2024 campaign. An advocacy group he founded launched a campaign against the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

What is the history of the award? Members of former President John F. Kennedy’s family created the award in 1989 to honor him and recognize other people who they thought displayed political courage. The honor recognizes a public official whose actions align with those discussed in Kennedy’s 1957 book titled Profiles in Courage. JFK’s book focused on eight U.S. senators who made unpopular decisions for the greater good and risked their careers in the process.

Each year, the library foundation names a bipartisan committee to select the recipient or recipients of the award. Former President Barack Obama, former Utah Senator and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and former President George H.W. Bush have also received the honor.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta's report about a judge unsealing evidence in the Jan. 6 case against Trump.