JD Vance: Husband, father, veteran, author

Vice president will be 3rd-youngest to hold job

By: Cheryl McCloud
USA Today Network - Florida

TALLAHASSEE Florida - President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in Monday, [01/20/2025] is certainly no stranger to the American public. But what about former Senator JD Vance, R-Ohio, who will be sworn in as vice president?

Early days

..... Vance was born James Donald Bowman on August 2, 1984, to Donald Bowman and Beverly Carol Bowman in Middletown, Ohio. they evidenced when he was a toddler.
..... Vance and his sister, Lindsey, were raised primarily by their maternal grandparents, James and Bonnie Vance, whom they called "Papaw" and Mamaw."
..... "Tybulence was common a home and at school,Vance's Senate website said. his grandmother :was his saving grace. Her tough love and discipline kept him on the straight and narrow. A "blue dog" democrat, she owned 19 handguns and nurtured a deep Christina faith in herself and her family."

Name changes

..... Vance has changed his name several times since he was born. Here's a list compiled by The Associated Press:
* He was born James Donald Bowman
* He was adopted by his stepfather about age 6. His name was change to James David Hamel on records including on his birth certificat4e on file at Ohio's vital statistics office.
* He spent the next two decades as J.D. Hamel.
* On his wedding day in 2014, he changed his last name to Vance, after his maternal grandparents.
* By the time he entered politics in July 2021, he had removed the periods from J.D., saying it was how he refers to himself in news releases and in certain campaign and business filings.

Military service and education

..... Vance enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2003, leaving in 2007 as a corporal. He served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
..... He graduated from Ohio State University under the GI Bill and graduated from Yale Law School.

Author of 'Hillbilly Elegy'

..... Vance wrote a bestselling book, "hillbilly elegy. A memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis. Netflix turned it into a movie, directed by Ron Howard.
..... Amazon described "Hillbilly Elegy" as "an incisive account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America's white working class."
..... It continued: "With piercing honesty, Vance shows how he himself still carries around the demons of his chaotic family history.
..... Critics panned the movie and some Appalachians hated it, saying it reinforced stereotypes about rural Americans and offers ease answers for complicated situations.

Married life

..... Vance is married to Usha Chilukria. a trail lawyer and daughter of Indian immigrants, Chilukuri was born and raised in the suburbs of San Diego, according to the BBC.
..... The two met at Yale. While there, they organized a discussion group on the subject of :social decline in white America," according to The New York Times.
..... They have three children: sons Ewan and Vivek and Daughter Mirabel.

Thought on Trump

..... Vance has evolved from a never-Trump Republican to a loyalist who has frequently been thought of as one of the leading heirs to Trump's brand of conservative politics.
..... In the past, he has called Trump "noxious" and :reprehensible" in public and "America's Hitler" in private
..... Before his election to the U.S. Senate in 2022, Vance underwent a conversion that made him one of the top messengers in the media for Trump's MAGA movement.
..... Vance said he was persuaded to look past trump's demeanor and found he preferred his policies.
..... Critics have argued it is evidence Vance is duplicitous and willing to do anything for power.
..... "I think that it acutely makes him more relational and even a better VP pick that others because he was a little Trump-skeptical early on," turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk told USA today last year. [2024]
..... "He became a believer as he saw that President Trump implemented policies and decisions that were consistent with what he believes in. I think it's some genuine and real."
..... Vance has "championed the hard-working men and women of our country," Trump said when he announced his running mate on Truth Social.

Service as senator

..... Before being tapped by Trump as his vice presidential running mate, Vance was a U.S. senator representing Ohio. he was elected in 2022 and sworn into office January 3, 2023.
..... During his time with the 118th Congress, Vance sponsored 57 pieces of legislation.
..... they included the Dismantle DEI Act of 2024 and Senate Bill 3945, a bill to restrict the Chinese government form accessing United States capitol markets and exchanges if it failed to comply with international laws relating to finance, trade and commerce.
..... Vance resigned his senate seat last week ahead of his vice presidential term.

A young vice president

..... When he is inaugurated, Vance will be 40 years, 5 months and 18 days old, becoming the third-youngest vice president in American history.
,,,,, He will be the youngest since Vice President Richard Nixon was inaugurated in 1953. He was 40 years, 11 days old on Inauguration Day.

Contributor: Riley Beggin, USA Today.

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