Axios House: GOP lawmakers feel confident in Trump’s VP pick J.D. Vance

MILWAUKEE – Top GOP lawmakers said former President Trump's decision to select Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate will help them win in battleground states and relate to the needs of working class Americans in interviews with Axios reporters this week.

• Catch up quick: Axios House hosted an event during the week of the Republican National Convention on Monday about the cost of living crisis, sponsored by Save The Children. Next month Axios House will host events at the Democratic National Convention.

Unequivocal support for Vance as the VP resounded among lawmakers, many of whom noted Vance's personal story as the "American dream."

• National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman and Montana Sen. Steve Daines, said Vance will be able to uniquely appeal to "lunchbucket Democrats" and will be able to help Republicans in down-ballot Senate races.
• Indiana Rep. Jim Banks said, "President Trump is the leader of the Republican party and the 'America First' movement. J.D. Vance is the next generation of it."

Separately, Alabama freshman Sen. Katie Britt called the GOP the party of hardworking Americans and families while addressing the high cost of childcare.

• "I remember when my husband and I were looking to send our kids to daycare. I mean, it felt like we needed to take out a second mortgage. I'm not kidding."
• "If entering the workforce or re-emerging into it– if an impediment to that is that you cannot afford childcare, then we as a nation have got to figure that out and do better."

As more information comes out about the attempted assassination of Trump, Daines told Axios' Stef Kight that this is a moment to "take the temperature down" when it comes to political divisiveness.

• "Hateful rhetoric…is not a one-party problem, this extends across both parties."
• "I think the American people are yearning for more of a policy debate versus a personality kind of contest."
• Meanwhile, Banks told Axios' Sophia Cai how Trump "won't back down, he won't stop doing whatever it takes to win," and pointed to the moment on Saturday where Trump raised his fist in the air right after being shot.

In other news, Daines also said there needs to be more of a conversation about ​​Trump's plan for aggressive tariffs on China.

• He said that he'd be "more inclined to do targeted type tariffs…versus something that's just universal" and that "unilateral" tariffs are "something you want to be thoughtful about."
• Trump's tariff plans could increase the cost of living for middle-income households by $1,700 per year, according to Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Content from sponsored segment below:

In a View From the Top conversation, Save the Children Action Network founder and special advisor to the Save the Children president, Mark Shriver, discussed their new polling which shows that the cost of living challenge is a priority for many voters no matter what party they're tied to.

• "These issues matter to people, to working families. They matter to Republicans and Democrats and independents. Yet the political leadership does not make this a priority. That's the thing that's most surprising to me."
• "It's not just urban settings– it's rural America, very strong support in rural America, in urban settings, and in suburban areas, but we have not figured out how to get that message out and to find enough political leadership on the federal level that will push these issues."