Washington (AP) Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role after working largely behind closed doors for several weeks: assisting Donald Trump in his efforts to get his most controversial Cabinet picks confirmed by the Senate, where Vance has been for the past two years.
Along with former Representative Matt Gaetz, Vance came in the Capitol on Wednesday. He spent the morning observing talks between Trump’s attorney general nominee and influential Republicans, including Senate Judiciary Committee members. The endeavor was in vain, as Gaetz declared a day later that he was removing his name due to the scrutiny surrounding sex trafficking claims and the fact that he was unlikely to be verified.
Vance returned Thursday morning, this time with Fox & Friends Weekend presenter Pete Hegseth, whom Trump has selected to be his next secretary of defense. In addition, Hegseth has been accused of sexual assault, which he refutes.
In the upcoming weeks, Vance is anticipated to meet with other nominees in an attempt to use his two years in the Senate to support Trump’s selections.
Vance is playing an unusual position as Trump nominees’ Senate advisor.
Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Image courtesy of J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press
For a vice president-elect, introducing nominees around Capitol Hill is a unique responsibility. Usually, a more junior assistant or a former senator with strong connections on the Hill gets the position.
Marc Short, Trump’s first director of legislative affairs and the chief of staff to Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, who spent over ten years in Congress and oversaw the former president’s transition before his first term, stated that this time the position is a good fit for Vance.
According to Short, it makes sense to use JD in that role because he likely has many present supporters in the Senate.
This Trump transition has mostly taken place behind closed doors in Palm Beach, Florida, in contrast to the first one, which took place in front of cameras at Trump Tower in New York and the president-elect’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Every day, a small team of officials and aides gathers at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to interview job prospects and look over potential possibilities. Trump has joked that he can’t get rid of Elon Musk, the billionaire who has spent so much time at the club, as part of the group.
Despite keeping a low profile, Vance has been there all the time. According to those with knowledge of his preparations, the senator from Ohio has been in Palm Beach for the most of the past two weeks, actively participating in the transition, which he chairs as honorary chair.
The Mar-a-Lago environment is very different from Vance’s humble beginnings.
Vance has been lodging at a cottage on the gilded club’s grounds, which features rooms with elaborate golden inlays, oriental rugs, and cherubs. It is quite different from the infamously difficult childhood that Vance detailed in his well-known memoir, Hillbilly Elegy.
He has occasionally been accompanied to Mar-a-Lago by his young children as well. With a U.S. Secret Service robotic security dog in the background and a giant palm frond on the property’s seawall, Vance was spotted playing with his children while wearing shorts and a polo shirt.
Vance has been participating in the sessions virtually through Zoom on the infrequent days that he is not in Palm Beach.
Vance has been active in the meetings, which started right after the election and involve presentations on the advantages and disadvantages of candidates, even if he has taken a vacation from TV interviews following months of nonstop appearances.
Candidates to succeed FBI Director Christopher Wray were among those interrogated, according to Vance’s since-deleted social media post.
Vance stated that he was meeting with President Trump at the time to apply for many government jobs, including the FBI Director position, in order to defend himself against accusations that he had missed a Senate vote that confirmed one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations.
Getting an FBI director who will destroy the deep state is more significant, in my opinion, than Republicans losing a vote 49-46 instead of 49-45, Vance continued on X. That’s just me, though.
As Trump fills his Cabinet, Vance is speaking up.
Vance and his friend, Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s eldest son, who is also on the transition team, were excited to see former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. secure positions in the administration, even though he did not enter the transition with a list of individuals he wanted to see in particular roles.
As the president’s top intelligence adviser and head of the country’s espionage agencies, Gabbard was ultimately chosen by Trump to be the next director of national intelligence. Additionally, he appointed Kennedy to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a huge organization that manages Medicare, Medicaid, and everything from food and drug safety.
The former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Tom Homan, who will be Trump’s border czar, was also heavily favored by Vance.
Another indication of Vance’s power is that Trump’s legislative affairs director is anticipated to be James Braid, a close assistant to the senator.
Talking about Vance’s potential White House responsibilities is premature, according to allies. Despite his preference for topics like immigration, trade, and technology policy, Vance views his job as fulfilling Trump’s demands.
Days after the election, Vance was seen showing his son’s Boy Scout unit around the Capitol and attending the leadership elections. This week he made a serious comeback, first with Gaetz, maybe Trump’s most controversial choice, and then with Hegseth, who was accused of sexually abusing a woman in 2017 based on an investigation report released this week. At the time, Hegseth denied any wrongdoing and told authorities that the contact had been consensual.
As Republican senators, including those on the Senate Armed Services Committee, trickled in to meet with the defense secretary nominee, Vance hosted Hegseth in his Senate office.
Instead of meeting senators in their offices, as is customary for presidential nominees, the freshman senator, who is always accompanied by a large Secret Service detail that makes moving around more difficult, took Hegseth to his office on Thursday and Gaetz to a room in the Capitol on Wednesday. Senators visited them.
Vance missed some votes on Thursday afternoon, but he was present at those on Wednesday and Thursday.
In the future, Vance will leverage his Senate experience.
After Trump assumes office, Vance is anticipated to keep using his connections in the Senate. However, a large number of Republicans there have been friends with Trump for a longer time.
During his first term, Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Republican from North Dakota, claimed that when he attempted to contact high-ranking White House officials, Trump was frequently the first to call him back.
Cramer said that Vance would be a terrific addition and that he has the most active Rolodex of almost anyone I’ve ever met.
They ll divide names up by who has the most persuasion here, Cramer said, but added, Whoever his liaison is will not work as hard at it as he will.
Cramer praised the senator from Ohio, describing him as intriguing and delightful to be around.
He claimed he didn’t have any long-term partnerships. But we all like people that have done what we ve done. I mean, that s sort of a natural kinship, just probably not as personally tied.
Under the Constitution, Vance will also have a role presiding over the Senate and breaking tie votes. But he s not likely to be needed for that as often as was Kamala Harris, whobroke a record number of ties for Democrats as vice president,since Republicans will have a bigger cushion in the chamber next year.
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Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
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