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Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance welcomed a baby boy, marking the first time in more than 150 years that a sitting vice president has had a child born while in office.
The Vances had announced in January that they were expecting their fourth child together, with a due date in late July. Both mother and baby are reported to be doing well.
The arrival of the newborn is a historic milestone. The last sitting vice president to welcome a child was Schuyler Colfax, who served under President Ulysses S. Grant. His son, Schuyler Colfax III, was born in April 1870, making the gap between then and now more than 150 years. Usha Vance becomes the first sitting Second Lady in modern history to give birth while her husband serves as vice president.
The couple already has three children together. Their eldest son, Ewan, was born in 2017. Their second son, Vivek, arrived in February 2020. Their daughter, Mirabel, is their youngest prior to this birth. When announcing the pregnancy in January, the Vances said they were grateful for the military doctors who care for their family and for the staff members who support them in balancing public service with family life.
Vice President Vance has been vocal about his commitment to family values and has advocated for policies supporting childbearing and child-rearing. At the March for Life rally in Washington in January, he stated, “Let the record show you have a vice president who practices what he preaches,” referencing his own growing family.
In discussions about naming their children, Vance revealed that he and Usha have “very different perspectives on what to name kids,” and that the couple typically debates names as they go into the delivery room, often making final decisions only after seeing the newborn. He said that he and Usha chose the names of their three older children quite late in pregnancy, with some names not finalized until after birth.
Vance’s interest in promoting childbearing has been a theme of his public messaging. In January, he called for “more babies in the United States of America,” emphasizing the importance of supporting young parents in affording and raising children. President Donald Trump has echoed similar sentiments about the importance of family expansion.
The pregnancy and birth announcement come amid what has been characterized as a “MAGA Baby Boom” within the Trump administration. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also announced her pregnancy around the same time, with expectations of a birth earlier this year. The overlapping pregnancies and births within the administration have drawn attention to the administration’s stated priority on family and pro-natalist policies.
Usha Vance, who is 40 years old, previously worked as a lawyer and clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh before leaving her legal career to support her husband’s political ambitions. She has largely maintained a measured public profile while fulfilling her duties as Second Lady, making appearances at state dinners and diplomatic functions alongside President Trump’s family.
The Vances met at Yale Law School, where they both studied, and married in 2014. Throughout their time in the public eye, Vice President Vance has spoken proudly of his family and his commitment to fatherhood, describing it as his “most important American dream.” In interviews, he has discussed how his own upbringing, which he has described as unstable and low-income, motivated him to provide his children with greater stability and opportunity.
Usha Vance will now balance her role as Second Lady with the demands of caring for a newborn, a feat that will be supported by the extensive staff and resources available to the Vice President’s family. The family will have access to military medical personnel and security arrangements as part of her husband’s position.
The historic nature of this birth has drawn attention from media outlets and the public alike, highlighting how rare it is for sitting vice presidents to experience the arrival of new children while in office. The event underscores the unusual timing and circumstances of the Vance family’s latest expansion and will likely remain a notable aspect of this administration’s tenure.