Former Vice President Mike Pence and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi received the Pelosi Pence Yale Patriot Award (the inaugural Yale Patriot Public Service Award for Executive Leadership) at a closed-door CEO caucus in Washington, D.C. on 15 September, pausing to share an embrace that lasted roughly 20 seconds.
The two gripped each other’s hands and leaned in to whisper before taking their seats side by side at the Yale School of Management Chief Executive Leadership Institute event, hosted by Yale professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld.
Sonnenfeld described the moment as ‘shocking, historic and emotional to all’.
Pelosi Pence Yale Patriot Award: who presented and why
The award was inaugurated to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. Pelosi was honoured for ‘Legislative Leadership’; Pence for ‘Executive Leadership’. Both were cited for placing country ahead of party and self.
The presenter list was bipartisan. Republican former Transportation and Labour Secretary Elaine Chao told the room: ‘Patriotism is not measured on the easy days. It is measured on the hard ones when doing your duty costs you something. On January 6, 2021, the Vice President was asked to set aside the Constitution. Under enormous pressure, in circumstances no one should ever face, he kept the oath he had sworn to protect.’
Former Democratic House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt said Pence ‘put country over party, and more importantly, country over self’, adding: ‘Mike Pence is a patriot. He has good character. He did the right thing. He stood for the Constitution, he stood for the laws of this country, and he saved this democracy.’
According to the Yale School of Management, Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, was also among the presenters for Pence’s award.
Republican former U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills made the case for Pelosi: ‘In these highly partisan days, Nancy Pelosi has really been a model for outstanding government leadership. She takes principled positions. Policy over politics. And policy over her own needs for reelection.’
Former Federal Reserve Chair and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, unable to attend in person, sent a pre-recorded tribute praising Pelosi’s ‘remarkable ability to look at seemingly impossible political situations, figure out what can actually be done, and then somehow get it done’.
Anxiety in the room, and a moment of relief
The tributes formed the emotional centrepiece of a caucus otherwise consumed by anxiety over the ongoing war in Iran, Trump’s upcoming visit to China, and AI’s effect on jobs and markets.
Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said manufacturers are ‘wrestling with enormous uncertainty, much of which has been brought about by populism and extreme partisanship’. He called the joint tribute a ‘vivid reminder that our nation is at its best when our leaders work together to advance America’s highest ideals.’
Robert Hormats, a senior State Department economic official across five administrations, was more emphatic, describing the pair as ‘HEROES WHO SAVED OUR DEMOCRACY THAT DAY. A TRULY MEMORABLE DAY.’
Sonnenfeld said he hoped the moment could provide a ‘much-needed pathway for business leaders to help pilot their businesses through the anxieties of the next few weeks and possibly next few months of a divided nation.’
Pence posted about the event on X.com after the ceremony. Pelosi is completing her final term after nearly four decades representing San Francisco.
