After rarely being seen in public in the two weeks since he delivered a brief, 46-second victory speech on election night, JD Vance reemerged this week to play one of the most important roles he will be expected to fill as Donald Trump’s No. 2: His point person on Capitol Hill.
The first-term Ohio senator has been tasked by the president-elect to help oversee his policy priorities and ensure lawmakers don’t stand in the way of enacting his agenda, multiple sources familiar with the discussions told CNN. That includes a concerted push to shore up support for Trump’s Cabinet picks, starting with two of the most controversial, both of whom face allegations of sexual misconduct that they deny.
On Wednesday, Vance brought former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s choice for attorney general, to the Hill to meet with the senators who will be crucial during his confirmation process. And on Thursday, he’ll do the same for former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to run the Department of Defense.
The effort marks an early test of Vance’s influence in the Senate, a body he joined less than two years ago. His ability to help secure the confirmation of Trump’s Cabinet choices, especially the most unorthodox ones, will be a key measure of the vice president-elect’s political acumen and sway.
Congressional Republicans acknowledge that Vance hasn’t necessarily developed longstanding relationships on Capitol Hill during his abbreviated time in Washington.
“He doesn’t have long relationships. But we all like people who have done what we’ve done. There’s sort of a natural kinship, just not as long,” said North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer.
But some Republicans also built pipelines directly to Trump from his first term in the Oval Office and may choose to go directly to the president-elect.
“When I call the White House, if I left a message for five people who work there, the one most likely to call me back – and the one that will do it first — is Donald Trump,” Cramer added, noting that “as a team, they will be very good. And they will divide and conquer. They’ll divide names up, you know, who has the most persuasion.”
Vance set the tone for his return to the Hill with a public message aimed at his GOP colleagues.
“Donald J. Trump just won a major electoral victory. His coattails turned a 49-51 senate to a 53-47 senate,” Vance wrote on X on Wednesday. “He deserves a cabinet that is loyal to the agenda he was elected to implement.”
The quip served as a reminder for senators who will soon have to vote on Trump’s Cabinet picks. Vance also issued a colorful broadside the previous day, following online criticism of his absence during a Senate vote for one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations. Responding to Grace Chong, a staffer for Trump ally Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, who had urged him and other GOP senators expected to serve in Trump’s second term to “do your fricking job,” Vance fired back, calling her a “mouth-breathing imbecile.” Both Chong and Vance have since deleted their posts.
Vance defended his absence by arguing that his vote wasn’t crucial given Democrats’ current majority in the Senate and noted he was instead meeting with Trump and potential candidates to run the FBI, even though the current director is still in the middle of a 10-year term.
Not long after the exchange, Trump, too, urged GOP senators to block further judicial confirmations.
“Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line,” Trump wrote on social media. “No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!”
Vance’s transition involvement
The vice president-elect, who has met with Trump most days since Election Day, has been closely involved in his top Cabinet picks, including weighing in on the selection of Trump’s former acting ICE director, Tom Homan to serve as the administration’s ‘border czar’ as well as former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence, multiple sources close to Trump and Vance told CNN.
Vance has spent the majority of his time since the election at Mar-a-Lago as part of a small group of Trump officials and allies, which includes Elon Musk and Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who have sat in on nearly every key transition meeting. The three developed a bond that predates the campaign and has carried into the early days of Trump’s transition.
The Ohio senator has disappeared from the airwaves amid the busy transition — a stark departure from the cable media appearances he maintained during the campaign.
The expectation is that Vance will “once against be a constant presence on TV and leading defender of Trump” as the transition slows and Inauguration Day approaches, a person close to him said.
One Trump adviser noted that one of the president-elect’s key priorities — which he has made clear in the decisions he has made for other top Cabinet roles — is to ensure Vance is consistently defending him and his policies on television.
“Obviously President Trump is the best champion of his agenda. But when you look at the effectiveness of JD in the campaign, there’s no better surrogate for President Trump’s agenda,” the adviser said.
As Trump continues to build out his Cabinet and top roles for his second term, arming his picks with agendas to carry out on his behalf, it remains unclear what portfolio will occupy Vance’s time.
This decision carries weighty implications that may ripple far beyond the next four years, particularly for a 40-year-old who’s increasingly seen as a leading heir to Trump’s MAGA movement. Over the past four months, Trump and Vance sharply criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ handling of one of her key assignments — tackling the root causes of illegal immigration from Central America — pinning the blame for the surge in border crossings squarely on her stewardship.
Multiple people close to Trump and Vance maintained it is too early for the transition team to begin having discussions about what his priorities will be, but insisted Vance will take his cues directly from Trump.
However, Vance has publicly and privately acknowledged the issues he cares most about — particularly the ones he clamored to be a leading voice on during his short time in the Senate.
“In JD’s view, his role of VP is to take on any issue that President Trump would like him to take on,” the person close to Vance told CNN. “With that said, it’s no secret that JD strongly cares about issues immigration, tech, and the economy.”
Vance is also waiting for Trump to build out his White House team before announcing staff hires for his office. One of his top aides, deputy chief of staff James Braid, was tapped by Trump to serve as the White House director of legislative affairs, making one of Vance’s key allies his liaison to Capitol Hill.
Together, the two are assigned to push Trump’s agenda through Congress and lobby members to carry out what Trump has repeatedly referred to behind closed doors as the mandate voters have given him.
“Vance is integral to a process that already includes the Hill and probably will continue. There’s a big slate of nominees, and then there’s going to be a big agenda,” a senior Trump adviser told CNN. “That is the president delivering on the promises that represent the platform that we got an overwhelming mandate to apply. That is going to involve Capitol Hill, and for all those reasons, you’ll see JD as part of that.”
CNN’s Ted Barrett contributed to this report.