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US ELECTION 2024

This is Usha Vance, VP JD Vance’s wife: Family background, career, age, education

Once said to be “appalled” by Donald Trump, the wife of his vice president is now seemingly a staunch backer.

Once said to be “appalled” by Donald Trump, the wife of his vice president is now seemingly a staunch backer.
Kevin MohattREUTERS

If one were to go back in time and speak with moderate Republicans after the events of January 6, 2021, they would be outraged by the violence. Go back even further to 2016, and many would have said Donald Trump was a dangerous pick to lead the United States.

However, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and his wife, are prime examples of how quickly opinions can change, when siding with the powerful can improve your own position. Vance, who called Trump a “bad candidate, and frankly a really bad person,” is now standing proudly at his side, and is the presumed inherritor of Trump’s political project, should his legacy fair better than that of former VP Mike Pence.

Usha Vance was a staunch critic of Donald Trump

Another member of the Vance family has been drawn into this ring of power, Vance’s wife, Usha. According to a Washington Post report, Usha Vance privately shared her deep concerns about the Capitol riots with friends. A close confidant, speaking anonymously, revealed that she was “outraged by Trump’s incitement of the deadly riot at the US Capitol and lamented the social breakdown that fueled his political support”.

The same friend stated that Usha was “generally appalled by Trump, from the moment of his first election”.

These reported views stand in stark contrast to her current public stance. At the Republican National Convention, where Donald Trump introduced his running mate J.D. Vance to the country, Usha Vance was seen supporting her husband and the former president. Though she was previously a registered Democrat, she has since aligned with the Republican Party.

U.S. Vice President-elect JD Vance walks with his wife, Usha Vance, as they attend the vice president's dinner ahead of the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, in Washington, U.S., January 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt
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U.S. Vice President-elect JD Vance walks with his wife, Usha Vance, as they attend the vice president's dinner ahead of the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, in Washington, U.S., January 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin MohattKevin MohattREUTERS

Who is Usha Vance?

Born Usha Chilukuri, she is a prominent lawyer. Raised in San Diego by Indian immigrant parents, she excelled academically, earning a BA from Yale and an MPhil from Cambridge University as a Gates Scholar. Usha met J.D. at Yale Law School, where their partnership began during a class project on social issues, leading to their marriage in 2014. The couple shares three young children.

Professionally, Usha has clerked for Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts and worked as a trial lawyer at Munger, Tolles & Olson.

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