MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Donald Trump announced Monday, the first day of the Republican National Convention, that Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance will be his vice presidential running mate, ending months of speculation about who would receive the vice presidential nomination.
Vance has not been a member of Congress for long. He has less than two years of experience as a senator, and during his term in the upper chamber, he voted against major bipartisan bills.
Before becoming a U.S. lawmaker, Vance served in the Marine Corps during the Iraq War, worked as a venture capitalist and wrote a book about growing up in Appalachia. He has a law degree from Yale.
“After much consideration and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have determined that the person best qualified to serve as Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump, who will be the 2024 Republican presidential nominee on Thursday evening, wrote on social media.
“JD has had a very successful business career in technology and finance, and now, on the campaign trail, he will be very focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American workers and farmers of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and far beyond…” Trump added.
Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence has been distancing himself from Trump since the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, forcing Trump to find someone else to join him on the ballot this year.
Pence was inside the Capitol that day when a mob of Trump supporters attacked police officers, broke into the building and prevented Congress from certifying the Electoral College votes for President Joe Biden.
Pence was critical of the changes that have taken place in the Republican Party under Trump’s leadership, including: rejecting the way the platform has evolved this year about abortion.
The Biden-Harris campaign immediately criticized Vance’s choice.
“Donald Trump chose JD Vance as his vice presidential running mate because Vance will do what Mike Pence would not do on January 6th: He will bend over backwards to allow Trump to advance his radical MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter what harm it does to the American people,” B. said.ANDden-Harris 2024 Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon.
“Every day for the next three and a half months, we will be making the case for and against the two starkly contrasting visions Americans will be choosing between in November: Biden-Harris, who focuses on unifying the country, creating opportunity for all, and lowering costs; or Trump-Vance, whose pernicious agenda will take away Americans’ rights, hurt the middle class, and make life more expensive — all while benefiting the ultra-rich and greedy corporations.”
Vance’s Background
Vance was born in August 1984 in Middletown, Ohio. After graduating from high school in 2003, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and later deployed to the Iraq War.
He attended Ohio State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy in 2009. Vance then attended Yale University, graduating in 2013, before joining the law firm Sidley Austin LLP.
Vance gained national fame for his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” which tells the story of his upbringing in poverty in the Rust Belt. But the book met with a negative reaction Many historians and journalists have expressed their dissatisfaction with his descriptions of Appalachia and the people who inhabit it.
The 39-year-old worked in San Francisco in the technology industry as a venture capitalist. He was a director at one of PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s companies.
Vance later returned to Ohio and over $90 million raised co-founded a Cincinnati venture capital investment firm, Narya Capital, which received financial backing from Thiel.
Vance ran his first campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2022, defeating Democratic candidate and former U.S. House of Representatives Representative Tim Ryan with 53% of the vote.
Since being sworn in in January 2023, Vance has voted against several major bills, including a bill that raised the debt limitNational draft law on defense policy and two mandatory government financing packages.
Aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan
Vance too voted against the legislation which included $95 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as a ban on TikTok in the United States unless the social media app’s Chinese parent company sells it.
Vance was one of 18 senators who voted against that the emergency spending bill will head to President Joe Biden’s desk. Another 79 senators voted to approve the bill.
During the debate over the spending package, Vance opposed sending more aid and weapons to Ukraine, arguing there were similarities between the country’s fight to oust Russia from its borders and the U.S. war in Iraq.
“The exact same arguments are being made today that you’re a fan of Vladimir Putin if you don’t like our policy toward Ukraine, or you’re a fan of some horrible tyrannical idea because you think America should focus more on its own border than someone else’s,” Vance said.
“This war fever, this inability to actually process what’s happening in the world and make rational decisions is the most terrifying part of this whole debate,” he added.
Bipartisan efforts
During his relatively compact tenure in the U.S. Senate, Vance also worked on bipartisan legislation.
He sponsored the bill along with Ohio State Senator Sherrod Brown, Pennsylvania State Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman, all three Democrats, to address rail safety following the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine.
Vance wrote in a statement released when Bill in March 2023, it was revealed that with this legislation, “Congress has a real opportunity to ensure that what happened in eastern Palestine never happens again.”
“We owe every American the peace of mind that their community is protected from this type of disaster,” Vance wrote. “Action to prevent future disasters is critical, but we must never lose sight of the needs of Ohioans living in East Palestine and surrounding communities.”
The bipartisan legislation still needs to advance to the Senate, be voted on in committees or in the floor.
Ashley Murray contributed to this report.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
