(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump has been the ultimate GOP mover and shaker since 2015, using his sway to impact the party far beyond just his own political career. Now, Vice President-elect JD Vance has some early opportunities to make his own mark.
Vance, still Ohio’s junior senator, has shepherded some of Trump’s Cabinet picks around and can use his ties to his colleagues to promote others. He is also in touch with Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine as he mulls who to tap to replace Vance in the Senate until 2026, when that person would then have to run in a special election to serve the rest of the seat’s term.
It’s unlikely that Vance — or anyone — can emulate Trump’s unique ability to affect change in the party. But Vance is the country’s second-highest ranking Republican and considered Trump’s heir apparent, making the upcoming opportunities chances to glimpse the power the 40-year-old holds across the GOP to promote the incoming administration’s goals but also his own stock beyond his formal role.
“It’s pretty clear that he is in a pole position after Trump to help lead the party. So, he’s going to, I think, take these opportunities to show the party that he’s a loyal soldier to Donald Trump, but he’s also going to be a future force to be reckoned with,” said former Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who remains in touch with Trump’s team.
Vance is not a sherpa for every single Cabinet pick, but he did escort former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s failed attorney general pick, and Pete Hegseth, tapped to lead the Pentagon, around Capitol Hill. He’s also making calls to Senate colleagues about some of Trump’s Cabinet choices, according to sources familiar with the matter.
He’s also in what one source described as semi-regular contact with DeWine as the two-term governor mulls who to appoint to the Senate seat that Vance is vacating. The decision is ultimately DeWine’s, and there currently doesn’t appear to be a favorite for the role, but sources said they would be surprised if the person was someone who rubbed Vance and Trump the wrong way.
“Ohio is his domain, so I think you can expect that his voice in the upcoming Senate race will be important,” one source close to Vance said. “There is a want to land on somebody that everybody involved will be happy with, DeWine, Trump and JD.”
To be certain, Vance can only move the needle so far with Cabinet confirmations and Senate appointments, decisions that are up to a Senate looking for chances to assert its independence and a governor who has clashed with Trump but remained electorally viable. There will also be tougher battles to come as the next administration works to muscle through its policy priorities, and Trump will still run the show as a dominant political figure who virtually blocks out the sun.
But the dual conversations over appointments could offer early indications of how much Republicans listen when Vance speaks, even as someone’s No. 2.
“He talks to [senators] a lot,” said one source in Vance’s orbit. “They’re his colleagues still for another four weeks. So, yeah, he works the phones. He was on Capitol Hill this week. I think he wants to see folks get in there so the administration can hit the ground running on day one.
“He’s a surrogate for when the President has to be in multiple places at the same time. He’s influential, but I don’t know that he’s more persuasive than the president as such. He’s augmenting,” the person added.
Already, Vance has seen some of his allies elevated in the incoming administration.
James Braid, who was Vance’s deputy chief of staff in the Senate, will be the White House’s formal liaison to Congress. Daniel Driscoll, another Vance ally, was tapped to be secretary of the Army. Trump picked hedge fund manager and Vance friend Scott Bessent as his treasury secretary after he donated millions to the presidential ticket.
And Vance has already proven his sway by helping now-Ohio Republican Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno win Trump’s endorsement in the Ohio Senate primary this year and then get him over the finish line against Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown who had defied political gravity for several cycles.
There have been setbacks, too — Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration after sexual misconduct allegations dogged his nomination, and Hegseth is facing headwinds over allegations of sexual assault and heavy drinking that he’s denied. However, it’s unclear how much outside help could improve their chances given the gravity of the allegations.
“This is a chance to see how many of Vice President-Elect Vance’s confidants end up in the Cabinet, and whether they are Cabinet secretaries, or the other place to take a very serious look is the undersecretaries,” said Steve Stivers, a former congressman who leads the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. “It’s not just the Cabinet secretaries, but the undersecretaries that matter here, because those will be people filling their résumé being ready to move up.”
Still, there’s no guarantee that Vance will be able to be as big of a mover and shaker as normally possible for vice presidents in Trump’s White House.
The president-elect is famously wary of others enjoying too bright of a spotlight, and there could be other high-profile Republicans who are also anticipated to be power players after Trump leaves office, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick to lead the State Department, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is rumored to be in the mix for Pentagon chief if Hegseth’s nomination falls through.
“Obviously, he has a great opportunity here. But I think for folks to say it’s a fait accompli that JD Vance is somehow ahead of the rest of the field today, I just don’t think that’s accurate,” said one former senior Trump administration official.
“What is he going to do that’s outside of the Trump shadow, that is actually him, that is not him acting as a liaison for Donald Trump? And of those things, what does he do that pisses off Donald Trump? Because it’s a guy that doesn’t really like people operating outside of his shadow.”
But at the end of the day, Vance will have a more elevated platform than any other Republican in the country except for one, and Trump enters office as a lame duck because of constitutional term limits, possibly leaving Vance well-positioned for a potential vacuum in a party dominated by Trump for nearly a decade.
“Trump picked him for a specific reason, and that reason is to carry the mantle. Now, he’s 40 years old. That dude could be around for a while. Trump was looking ahead,” said Ohio GOP strategist Mike Hartley. “I think he’s going to give him every opportunity to succeed.”
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