At the Palm Beach County Convention Center in Florida, the clock struck midnight when Donald Trump, accompanied by his team, took to the stage, greeted by enthusiastic applause from a crowd eager to see their President-elect. Shortly into his victory address on Tuesday, Trump praised his running mate, JD Vance, and his Indian-American spouse, Usha Chilukuri Vance. Trump secured victory over Democratic opponent Kamala Harris with a lead of 53 electoral votes. “I want to be the first to congratulate – now I can say Vice President-elect JD Vance. And his remarkable and beautiful wife, Usha Vance,” Trump declared, eliciting loud cheers from the audience.
Usha Vance, born to Indian immigrants from Andhra Pradesh who settled in the United States in 1986, grew up in a suburb of San Diego, California. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in History from Yale University and later pursued a Master of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge as a Gates Scholar. The prospective Second Lady of the United States has held editorial positions at both the Yale Journal of Law & Technology and The Yale Law Journal, where she was Managing Editor and Executive Development Editor, respectively. Usha met JD Vance while attending Yale Law School, and they married in 2014 in a ceremony that incorporated a Hindu ritual. The couple has three children, and Usha has been a steadfast supporter of JD Vance throughout his political journey, frequently appearing with him during his campaign for the Ohio Senate. Her contributions were also instrumental in JD Vance’s acclaimed memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which explores the challenges faced by rural America and was subsequently adapted into a film directed by Ron Howard. Usha currently practices as a corporate litigator at a firm in San Francisco, with a legal background that includes clerking for US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
