JD Vance

James David Vance is an American author, lawyer, investor, and Republican politician who became the 50th individual to serve as vice president of the United States. Before becoming vice president, he represented Ohio in the United States Senate. His rise to national office followed the publication of his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, his work in venture capital, and his election to the Senate in 2022.

Vance was born in Middletown, Ohio, and was raised largely by his grandparents in a working-class family. His childhood experiences in Middletown and his family's Appalachian background later became central subjects of his writing. After graduating from Middletown High School, Vance enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served for four years, including a deployment to Iraq. He subsequently attended Ohio State University, where he graduated, and Yale Law School, where he earned his law degree.

After law school Vance worked as an attorney and entered the investment world, focusing on technology and startup companies. In 2016 he published Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. The book described his upbringing and his family's Appalachian roots and became a national bestseller. Its publication brought Vance national attention and made him a prominent participant in discussions about economic change, working-class communities, and American politics.

Vance entered electoral politics in 2022 when he ran for the United States Senate from Ohio. He won the Republican nomination and then the general election, taking office in January 2023. As a senator, he worked on legislation involving manufacturing, trade, immigration, labor, technology, and economic policy. In 2024 Donald Trump selected Vance as his running mate. The Trump-Vance ticket won the presidential election, and Vance was sworn in as vice president on January 20, 2025.

As vice president, Vance serves as president of the Senate and participates in the Trump administration's executive policy-making. His responsibilities include representing the administration domestically and abroad and working with members of Congress on legislation. He has also cast Senate tie-breaking votes, as permitted by the Constitution. As of September 2026, he remains the sitting vice president.

Vance's historical significance is still developing because his vice presidency is ongoing. His career already spans military service, law, authorship, private investment, the U.S. Senate, and the vice presidency, and he is the first person born in the 1980s to hold the office. His rise also represents the shortest period between election to the Senate and election to the vice presidency among the modern sequence of vice presidents.