US President Donald Trump has said he would have chosen Usha Chilukuri Vance, wife of JD Vance, as his vice president because “she is smarter but the line of succession didn’t work that way.”
Ms Usha, 39, on Monday (Jan 21, 2025) became the first Indian-American and Hindu second lady after her husband, JD, was sworn in as the 50th vice president of the US.
On Monday, dressed in a pink coat, she held the Bible in one hand and her daughter Mirabel Rose in the other, while Vance placed her left hand on the religious text and, raising her right, took the oath.
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As a lawyer and the daughter of Indian immigrants (her parents’ ancestral village is Vadluru in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh), Ms. Usha is also one of the youngest second ladies to take up the role.
She is the second youngest lady since Jane Hadley Barkley, 38, wife of former President Harry Truman’s vice president, Alben Barkley.
After Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States with JD as his deputy, the 78-year-old Republican addressed a crowd in the overflow room, calling them “beautiful.”
Trump praised his team, especially JD, for his successful re-election bid.
“I watched JD for a while. I endorsed him in Ohio. “He was a great senator and very, very smart,” Trump said, but added: “The only one smarter is his wife.”
This reference made everyone in the room laugh.
Trump then looked at JD and said, “I would have chosen her, but somehow the line of succession didn’t work out that way, right?” “She’s great and he’s great. “It’s a great, beautiful couple and an incredible career,” he continued.
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Ms. Usha’s mentor, administered the oath to her husband JD.
Usha had clerked for Supreme Court Justices Kavanaugh and John Roberts.
Her elevation as second lady comes as Indian Americans have become more politically active during recent election cycles and have run as candidates on the national stage, including several running for president in 2024, The Hill reported.
“My experience is very different than JD’s,” he said at the Republican National Convention in July.
“I grew up in San Diego, in a middle-class community with two loving parents, both immigrants from India, and a wonderful sister. The fact that JD and I were able to meet, let alone fall in love and get married, is a testament to this great country.” Ms. Usha is Indian, raised by Indian immigrant parents in California. Her husband credits her for helping him return to his faith.
Vance said on the Megyn Kelly Present podcast in 2020: “If I maybe get a little arrogant or a little too proud, I just remind myself that she’s way more accomplished than me. “People don’t realize how brilliant he is.” she is.” Ms. Usha and Mr. Vance met at Yale Law School while students and later married in 2014 in Kentucky. The ceremony was blessed by a Hindu priest at a different event, according to a New York Times profile.
The Vances have three sons: Ewan and Vivek, and a daughter named Mirabel.
After Vance was chosen as Trump’s running mate, Usha’s Hindu roots soon became the talk of the town. Vance has said on several occasions that his wife is not a Christian, but that she was “very supportive” of him deepening his faith.
When asked about the challenges of an interfaith marriage, Ms. Usha said: “I think there are a lot of things that we just agree on, especially when it comes to family life, how to raise our children. And I think the answer really is: we just talk a lot.”
Published – January 21, 2025 11:37 am IST
