# JD Vance *American politician, author and 50th vice president of the United States (2025–present)* JD Vance, born James Donald Bowman on August 2, 1984, is a Marine Corps veteran, author and politician. On January 20, 2025, he took office as the 50th [[Vice President of the United States]].[^1] He belongs to the [[Republican Party (United States)]] and held one of Ohio's seats in the [[United States Senate]] from January 3, 2023, to January 3, 2025.[^1] In the [[Minnesota]] record, Vance is the addressee of a letter dated June 7, 2026, from House Oversight Committee Chairman [[James Comer]].[^2] The letter transmitted the Committee staff report *[[The Cost of Doing Nothing]]: How Tim Walz and Keith Ellison Fueled Minnesota's Fraud Explosion*.[^2][^3] Press reports then described a referral from Vance to the Justice Department naming [[Tim Walz]] and [[Keith Ellison]].[^4] The record does not establish what action, if any, followed from the referral.[^4] Vance also appears in the record for an August 2024 accusation that Walz had committed "stolen valor." The accusation is documented in news reporting, not in a primary source.[^5][^6][^7] ## Early life and education Vance was born in Middletown, Ohio, on August 2, 1984, and grew up there. His maternal grandparents were his primary caregivers.[^1] He finished Middletown High School in 2003. That year he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, where he worked in public affairs as a military journalist until 2007.[^1] He later completed a bachelor's degree at The Ohio State University and a Juris Doctor at Yale Law School.[^1] He took the surname Vance, his mother's maiden name, in April 2013.[^1] ## Career After law school, Vance worked for Republican senator John Cornyn. He then clerked for Judge David Bunning of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky and practiced corporate law at Sidley Austin.[^1] He moved into venture capital in San Francisco. From 2016 to 2017 he was a principal at Mithril Capital, a firm owned by Peter Thiel.[^1] HarperCollins published his memoir, *Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis*, in June 2016. The book appeared on *The New York Times* best-seller list in 2016 and 2017.[^1] ## U.S. Senate (2023–2025) In March 2021, Thiel gave $10 million to Protect Ohio Values, a super PAC created to back a possible Vance candidacy.[^1] Vance entered the Ohio Senate race on July 1, 2021. He won the Republican primary on May 3, 2022, with 32 percent, ahead of Josh Mandel (24 percent) and Matt Dolan (23 percent).[^1] On November 8, 2022, he beat Democratic nominee Tim Ryan, 53 percent to 47 percent.[^1] Vance took the oath as a member of the 118th Congress on January 3, 2023.[^1] On March 1, 2023, he and Senator Sherrod Brown introduced a bipartisan bill on rail safety following the East Palestine derailment. The bill did not become law.[^1] By mid-July 2024 he had sponsored 57 bills, and none had passed the Senate.[^1] ## 2024 presidential election On January 31, 2023, Vance endorsed Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.[^1] On July 15, 2024, the opening day of the Republican National Convention, Trump named Vance as his running mate. Vance accepted the nomination on July 17.[^1] He left the Senate before he was inaugurated as vice president.[^1] ## Vice presidency (2025–present) Justice [[Brett Kavanaugh]] administered the vice-presidential oath to Vance at noon on January 20, 2025.[^1] On January 24, 2025, Vance broke a tie in the Senate to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.[^1] On February 14, 2025, he addressed the 61st Munich Security Conference and criticized European Union leaders.[^1] ## Political positions Vance has been described as a national conservative and a right-wing populist.[^1] He opposes abortion and gun control. He has proposed making gender-affirming care for minors a federal crime.[^1] In the Senate, he voted against the Respect for Marriage Act.[^1] ## Personal life Vance married Usha Chilukuri in Kentucky in June 2014. The two had met at Yale Law School.[^1] Vance was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church in August 2019.[^1] The couple's fourth child was born on July 19, 2026. That birth made Vance the first sitting vice president to have a child since Schuyler Colfax in 1870.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer addressed a transmittal letter to Vice President Vance, dated June 7, 2026. The letter accompanied the Committee's Minnesota report.[^2] - The project's validated master, *The Instrument No One Will Name*, records a referral from Vance to Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the [[National Fraud Enforcement Division]]. According to that master, the referral was first reported on June 8, 2026, with broader press coverage on June 8–9.[^4] The same master states that the referral letter's face date has not been confirmed against a primary copy. The June 7 transmittal sets the earliest possible date.[^2] ### What - *The Cost of Doing Nothing* is a House Oversight Committee staff report. The project's validated master describes an original 54-page release dated March 4, 2026. It describes the June 2026 release as an expanded 205-page report.[^3] The report's title attributes the fraud to Walz and Ellison. The record here does not include the report's findings or any charges that resulted from it.[^3] - The *Washington Examiner* reported that Vance referred Walz and Ellison to the Justice Department over a fraud [[Whistleblower]] complaint.[^4] - The referral went to a division of the [[United States Department of Justice]]. Separately, on January 14, 2026, the Department's Office of Public Affairs issued release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. In that release, Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^8] The record does not connect that lawsuit to Vance's referral.[^8] - NPR reported on August 8, 2024, that Vance had accused Walz of "stolen valor."[^5] The Daily Beast covered the same accusation under a headline describing Walz as a 24-year Army veteran.[^6] Rolling Stone published a piece titled *JD Vance's "Stolen Valor" Claim Against Tim Walz Is Total B.S.*[^7] These sources are news outlets and are attributed as such. ### When - August 8, 2024: NPR reports Vance's "stolen valor" accusation against Walz.[^5] - January 14, 2026: DOJ release No. 26-21 announces the lawsuit against Minnesota.[^8] - March 4, 2026: original Committee staff report released, according to the project's validated master.[^3] - June 2026: expanded Committee report released.[^3] - June 7, 2026: Comer's transmittal letter to Vance.[^2] - June 8, 2026: referral to the National Fraud Enforcement Division first reported, according to the project's validated master.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *JD Vance* (revision 1382041975, retrieved 2026-10-26; CC BY-SA 4.0) — biographical, Senate, campaign, vice-presidential and personal facts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JD_Vance [^2]: U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Chairman James Comer, *Letter to JD Vance to accompany MN report* (June 7, 2026) — transmittal of the Committee's Minnesota report to Vice President Vance. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Letter-to-JD-Vance-to-accompany-MN-report.pdf [^3]: U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, release accompanying the final report *The Cost of Doing Nothing* (June 2026) — release of the Committee's report on fraud in Minnesota's taxpayer-funded social programs. https://oversight.house.gov/release/oversight-committee-releases-bombshell-report-exposing-rampant-fraud-plaguing-minnesotas-taxpayer-funded-social-programs/ [^4]: *Washington Examiner*, *Vance refers Walz and Ellison to DOJ over fraud whistleblower complaint* (June 2026) — press report of Vance's referral. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/4600207/vance-refers-walz-ellison-doj-fraud-whistleblower-complaint/ [^5]: NPR, report on Vance's "stolen valor" accusation against Walz (August 8, 2024) — date and substance of the accusation. https://www.npr.org/2024/08/08/nx-s1-5068668/vance-walz-stolen-valor-military-record [^6]: The Daily Beast, *JD Vance Accuses 24-Year Army Veteran Tim Walz of 'Stolen Valor'* — press report of the accusation. https://www.thedailybeast.com/jd-vance-slams-vip-rival-walz-for-stolen-valor/ [^7]: Rolling Stone, *JD Vance's "Stolen Valor" Claim Against Tim Walz Is Total B.S.* — press commentary disputing the accusation. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/tim-walz-falsely-accused-stolen-valor-jd-vance-1235075718/ [^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (January 14, 2026) — the lawsuit and the Attorney General's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime