Inside J.D. Vance's Washington life
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VP pick J.D. Vance heading into the Senate chamber. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
J.D. Vance, an Appalachian turned Alexandrian, is now former President Trump's running mate, and we wanted to dig into the Ohio senator's local Washington persona.
Why it matters: Vance's DMV life offers a peek into where a potential second Trump administration could live and hang.
Catch up quick: Vance has made a lightning-fast journey over the past eight years from bestselling author and Trump critic to senator and, now, Trump's VP pick.
- Before becoming senator, Vance briefly worked at the D.C. venture capital firm Revolution, started by AOL co-founder Steve Case. There Vance overlapped with Joe Biden's first chief of staff, Ron Klain.
- Nowadays, Vance is one of Trump's closest allies on Capitol Hill and a fervent defender of his domestic and foreign policy.
State of play: Vance's first-term Senate office has a dose of startup energy. As Politico put it: "a mixture of adrenaline and youthful enthusiasm," powered by "two other powerful stimulants: testosterone and nicotine."
- Most who work for him are men under 40, nearly all 6 feet-something — running on plenty of nicotine (Zyn, perhaps?).
His wife Usha Vance is a highly accomplished attorney and daughter of Indian immigrants.
- The two met at Yale Law School, married in 2014, and have three children. She was a registered Democrat until at least 2014, per the New York Times.
- She clerked for Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Flashback: Last year, there were reports Vance bought a home in Alexandria's liberal Del Ray neighborhood, after which protesters yarn-bombed the house.
- The string art — knitted trans and bi Pride flags and a sign reading "Respect Our Rights" — was a means of protesting comments Vance has made concerning immigrants and trans kids, said the Del Ray yarn-bomber.
The intrigue: It might seem like a bit of a head-scratcher that Vance, a diehard Trump stalwart, would snag a home in Del Ray, the kind of spot where you're far likelier to see an "In this house, we believe…" sign than a Trump flag.
- Vance once fired off on social media about girls rowing in masks on the Potomac River (circa 2021).
- But it seems this isn't the first time Vance has settled in a left-leaning spot: In 2018, Vance and his wife purchased a $1.4 million, 5,000-square-foot home in "an upscale, liberal-leaning neighborhood" of Cincinnati, reported the New York Times.
Between the lines: Political insiders have speculated to Axios that the MAGA crowd may gravitate toward the 'burbs with a new administration, particularly Northern Virginia and Alexandria, given that the Trump Hotel is no more — a transition that seems even more likely now.
Yes, but: Vance's political campaign action committee seems to favor steakhouse chains downtown, according to Washingtonian, which reviewed spending reports at the likes of Capital Grille and Fogo de Chao.
- Also, no surprise for swamp circulators: Cafe Milano.
Meanwhile, reports of residents spotting the Vances out and about in Del Ray are scarce.
Go deeper: Inside Kamala Harris' D.C. life