WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Vice President Mike Pence will sit down with Sheldon Adelson behind closed doors on Friday, a meeting that cements the Republican billionaire's place as a key adviser to the new administration.

 

Pence, who is speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition that meets at Adelson's hotel and casino in Las Vegas, The Venetian, will chat formally with Adelson just before he addresses the entire RJC on Friday evening, according to a source with knowledge of the meeting.

 

Adelson, who disclosed nearly $80 million in donations to conservative groups in the 2016 cycle, is the country's most prolific Republican donor, and he has developed a close relationship with both President Donald Trump and Pence. But Trump's relationship with other elite Jewish donors has been rocky, with many prominent givers lauding his hawkish brand of Zionism but frustrated at times with the administration's missteps, such as when Trump was slow to rebuke a recent spate of anti-Semitic attacks.

 

On Wednesday, two days before he touches down in Las Vegas, Pence extensively condemned the violence at a cemetery marred by vandals just outside St. Louis.

 

Another prominent Republican set to welcome Pence this weekend: former Vice President Dick Cheney, who will introduce Pence before he takes the rostrum on Friday evening.

 

The-CNN-Wire

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