JD Vance served in the United States Senate from January3, 2023, to January10, 2025. A member of the Republican Party from the state of Ohio, Vance previously served in the United States Marine Corps from 2003 to 2007. He resigned his seat in the Senate upon being elected Vice President of the United States, making him President of the Senate.
Following incumbent Republican Rob Portman's announcement that he would not seek re-election, Vance declared his candidacy for the United States Senate. He defeated multiple opponents in the Republican primary and went on to defeat Democratic nominee Tim Ryan in the general election. Upon assuming office at the age of 38, he became the first Millennial Republican senator and the first US senator from Ohio without previous political experience since John Glenn in 1974. In 2023, he was described as a "rising star" within the Republican Party and was named to the Time 100 Next List. During his tenure, he was the youngest Republican member of the Senate and was widely noted for his Appalachian origin and poor white upbringing.
As a senator, Vance responded to the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment, supported efforts to strengthen border security during the Mexico–United States border crisis, drafted legislation to combat the 2021–2023 inflation surge, and opposed American military aid to Ukraine. In July 2024, he was selected as Donald Trump's running mate in the 2024 United States presidential election. Their ticket went on to win the election, defeating the Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. During the transition, Vance continued to serve in the Senate, co-sponsoring the Laken Riley Act. His Senate tenure coincided with the last two years of the Biden administration.
Vance served in the senate minority during the first two years of his term, serving as Ohio's junior senator alongside Democrat Sherrod Brown. After Brown lost re-election, Vance became Ohio's senior senator for the first week of the 119th United States Congress, serving alongside Republican Bernie Moreno. At midnight on January 10, 2025, Vance resigned from the Senate in anticipation of his inauguration as the 50th Vice President of the United States on January 20, 2025.
2022 U.S. Senate campaign in Ohio
In early 2018, Vance considered running for the U.S. Senate against Sherrod Brown, but did not. In March 2021, Peter Thiel gave $10 million to Protect Ohio Values, a super PAC created in February to support a potential Vance candidacy. This is the most significant amount ever given to a single Senate candidate. Robert Mercer also gave an undisclosed amount. In April, Vance expressed interest in running for the Senate seat being vacated by Rob Portman. In May, he launched an exploratory committee. Vance announced his Senate campaign in Ohio on July 1, 2021. On April 15, 2022, Trump endorsed Vance, who had criticized him in the past. Far-right political commentator Nick Fuentes was an outspoken critic of Vance's Senate campaign and tenure, stating that "Most people don't go from nobody to Senator;" and that Peter Thiel was specifically lobbying for Vance to run for office to benefit his venture capital firm.
Vance had been trailing in the polls, but as a result of Trump's support, he surged to become the race's frontrunner for the first time and led in most polls up to election day. Meanwhile, State Senator Matt Dolan, who disavowed Trump's claims of voter fraud in the 2020 United States presidential election, saw a late surge after buying ad time. Vance won with 32% of the vote with Former state treasurer Josh Mandel in second and Dolan in a close third. The primary was considered by many as a test of Trump's influence over the Republican Party as he won Ohio by 8 points in 2020. The primary was also the most expensive in the state's history, with the candidates spending a combined $66 million throughout the campaign. On May 3, 2022, Vance won the Republican primary with 32% of the vote, defeating multiple candidates, including Mandel (23%) and Dolan (22%). On November 8, in the general election, Vance defeated Democratic nominee Tim Ryan with 53% of the vote to Ryan's 47%. This vote share was considered a vast underperformance compared to other Ohio Republicans, especially in the coinciding gubernatorial election. Vance had often previously spelled his name with periods after his initials ("J.D.")—including in the publication of Hillbilly Elegy—but after becoming a candidate for office, he removed the periods ("JD").
Committee assignments
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection subcommittee Housing, Transportation, and Community Development subcommittee Securities, Insurance, and Investment subcommittee Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Communications, Media, and Broadband subcommittee Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change, and Manufacturing subcommittee Space and Science subcommittee Senate Special Committee on Aging
Tenure
On January 3, 2023, Vance was sworn in to the US Senate, as a member of the 118th United States Congress. He was the first US senator from Ohio without previous political experience since John Glenn, who took office in 1974.
On February 7, 2023, Vance attended the 2023 State of the Union Address, delivered by 46th president of the United States Joe Biden.
Vance criticized the Biden administration for what he saw as a lackluster response to the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. The Biden administration said that federal investigators were on scene soon after the derailment, although it later sent Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to visit the scene as well.
On February 26, 2023, Vance wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post, supporting the provision of PPP style funds to those affected by the derailment, which some Republican senators criticized.
On March 1, 2023, Vance and Senators Sherrod Brown, John Fetterman, Bob Casey, Josh Hawley, and Marco Rubio proposed bipartisan legislation to prevent derailments like the one in East Palestine.
On May 25, 2023, Vance visited the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Franklin County, Ohio.
In June 2023, Vance voted against raising the debt ceiling, standing against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 and saying it would result in "a reduced military in the face of a rising threat from China".
In June 2023, Vance worked with Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts to claw back executive pay when big banks fail.
In July 2023, Vance and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced legislation that would have made gender-affirming care for minors a federal crime, with penalties of up to 12 years in prison.
On August 2, 2023, Vance's 39th birthday, he attended the 168th Ohio State Fair with his family.
Vance joined a picket line during the 2023 United Auto Workers strike, having appeared at Stellantis Toledo Assembly.
On March 7, 2024, Vance attended the 2024 State of the Union Address, delivered by President Biden.
In March 2024, Vance and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse introduced the Stop Subsidizing Giant Mergers Act, which would end tax-free treatment for corporate mergers and acquisitions of companies above a certain threshold.
On May 9, 2024, Vance and Senators Marco Rubio and Josh Hawley sent a letter to President Biden demanding he block the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel.
In June 2024, Vance sponsored the Dismantle DEI Act, which would ban federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and funding for agencies, contractors, and organizations receiving federal funds.
In July 2024, Vance co-sponsored a bill with Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia to lower the price of insulin.
On July 15, 2024, after much speculation, Vance was selected as Donald Trump's running mate in the 2024 United States presidential election. Later that same day, Vance formally accepted his party's nomination for vice president of the United States at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Vance was not present for any Senate votes during his vice-presidential campaign.
After the Withdrawal of Joe Biden from the 2024 United States presidential election, Vance called on Biden to resign from office.
On September 11, 2024, Vance and Trump attended the 23rd anniversary commemoration of the September 11 attacks at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City.
On November 5, 2024, Vance was elected the 50th vice president of the United States, serving as vice president-elect concurrent to his role as a senator until his resignation.
On December 14, 2024, Vance attended the 2024 Army–Navy Game, alongside Trump, Elon Musk, Daniel Penny, Pete Hegseth, Ron DeSantis, Mike Johnson, John Thune, Dave McCormick, Tulsi Gabbard, Joe Manchin, Vivek Ramaswamy, Kash Patel, Susie Wiles, Mike Waltz, Julia Nesheiwat, Will Cain, and Jason Miller.
Following the defeat of Sherrod Brown in the 2024 United States Senate election in Ohio, Vance became Ohio's senior senator on January 3, 2025, after the swearing-in of Bernie Moreno.
On January 6, 2025, Vance voted to certify the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
On January 9, 2025, Vance attended the funeral of Jimmy Carter, alongside the current and living former vice presidents.
Vance served for the first seven days of the 119th United States Congress before resigning on January 10, 2025 in preparation to assume the vice presidency.
Domestic policy
Abortion In January 2023 Vance advocated for the U.S. Department of Justice to enforce the Comstock Act of 1873 to ban the mailing of drugs that induce abortion. In June 2024, the Supreme Court at least temporarily preserved access to mifepristone, after which Trump said during a debate that he "agree[d] with their decision" and would not "block" the drug. In July, a week before Vance was announced as Trump's running mate, Vance told NBC's Meet the Press that he likewise supported access to mifepristone.
Vance also signed a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra requesting the withdrawal of a privacy rule preventing law enforcement from accessing abortion related health records.
In August 2024, Vance was interviewed by Laura Ingraham, who brought up that suburban women are worried that abortion could be banned nationwide. He responded: "I don't buy that ... I think most suburban women care about the normal things most Americans care about right now." Vance also said that, if Congress passed a national abortion ban, Trump would and should veto it.
During the October 1, 2024, vice-presidential nominees' debate, Vance said he "never supported a national ban" on abortion, despite having said in 2022 that he "certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally" and pledging during his 2022 Senate campaign to "end abortion".
Economic policy Vance's economic views in the Senate have been described as "economic populism" and sometimes "economic nationalism". This view has elements of protectionism, particularly with regard to re-shoring of American industry, especially manufacturing, and protecting American jobs more generally. Vance has also expressed openness to a weaker U.S. dollar as a reserve currency, in order for American exports to be more competitive with other markets. His economic views are considered unorthodox in the Republican Party. He supports tariffs and antitrust policy. His open support for striking auto workers, in particular, surprised many in the party. While Vance has indicated opposition to tax increases overall, he supports increases for certain taxes on university endowments, corporate mergers, and large multinationals. He supports increasing the minimum wage and is highly skeptical of the economic and social contributions of large corporations.