Former United States President Donald Trump announced Ohio Senator JD Vance as his presidential running mate from the list of shortlisted candidates.
Vance, who is known to have transformed from Trump’s critic in 2016 to one of his staunchest defenders, said that he always had complete support from his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance.
Usha Vance, the Indian-origin wife of JD Vance, was standing beside her husband at the convention as the Ohio delegation chanted her husband’s name. The senator has described his wife, Usha, as a crucial part of his success for many years in the past.
According to CNN, the two attended law school together at Yale University, where Usha Vance also graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree.
JD Vance described his wife Usha as his “Yale spirit guide” in his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” who helps him navigate life at the elite university where the couple met.
“She instinctively understood the questions I didn’t even know to ask, and she always encouraged me to seek opportunities that I didn’t know existed,” he wrote, as quoted by CNN.
The two were married in an interfaith ceremony in Kentucky in 2014.
Usha Vance’s family is Hindu, while her husband converted to Catholicism in 2019.
Usha Vance’s Family And Education
Usha Chilukuri Vance is the daughter of Indian immigrants. She grew up in a suburb of San Diego. After finishing college, Usha clerked for two Supreme Court justices: Brett Kavanaugh when he was serving on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Chief Justice John Roberts.
During her college days, she had two stints at Yale and a master’s of philosophy at the University of Cambridge.
Usha began as an associate in 2015 at Munger, Tolles & Olson, a law firm with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. She continued working at the firm between clerkships.
She handled “complex civil litigation and appeals” in sectors that included “higher education, local government, entertainment, and technology, including semiconductors,” CNN reported, citing an archived version of her employee biography. The firm made an announcement about her resignation on Monday.
“Usha has informed us she has decided to leave the firm,” the company said in a statement. “Usha has been an excellent lawyer and colleague, and we thank her for her years of work and wish her the best in her future career,” the firm said, as quoted by CNN.
Challenges For JD Vance
J.D. Vance and Usha Vance have three young children. She played a big role in his 2022 Senate campaign. Usha Vance may again play a key role after being picked by Trump as his presidential running mate.
The senator has only been in office since January 2023. According to CNN, the Senator is likely to be questioned over both his lack of experience in politics and his transition from being the former US President’s critic in 2016 to an heir to the MAGA movement.
“Sometimes people say that he’s changed a lot, but the truth is, I’ve known him now for so many years, and he’s always been so true to himself,” Usha told Newsmax during a 2022 interview with her husband, as quoted by CNN.