Who is Usha Chilukuri Vance, Andhra origin wife of Trump’s running mate JD Vance?
A skilled litigator, Usha has played a key role in husband’s successful senate campaigns, and is expected to further cement US-India ties if Vance is elected Vice President
Former US president Donald Trump on Monday (July 15) chose Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate for the presidential elections.
Soon after Vance’s name was announced, besides his strong Republican credentials, the most-spoken about factor has been the identity of his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, an Indian American who traces back her ancestry to Andhra Pradesh.
Let’s know more about her:
A distinguished lawyer by profession, Usha works as a litigator at a national firm.
Born in California to Indian immigrant parents, Usha was raised in the suburbs of San Diego, said a report by The New York Times.
She attended the Mt Carmel High School in Rancho Penasquitos and holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge.
Meeting Vance
Usha met Vance at Yale Law School in 2013. According to NYT, they first worked together as students to organise a discussion group on the topic ‘Social decline in white America’ and bonded soon after.
Speaking about his fondness for his wife, Vance has called Usha his “Yale spirit guide”.
The couple tied the knot in 2014 after graduating from Yale.
They have three children – sons Ewan and Vivek and daughter Mirabel.
Successful career
At Yale, Usha is said to have served as the managing editor of the Yale Journal of Law and Technology and as the executive development editor of The Yale Law Journal.
She was a Gates fellow at Cambridge and was engaged in left-wing and liberal groups there. She had registered as a Democrat in 2014.
In the course of her career, Usha has worked as a law clerk for US Supreme Court justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh.
Before her Supreme Court stint, she worked as a litigator at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in San Francisco and Washington DC first from 2015 to 2017. She reportedly returned to Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in 2019.
As a litigator, Usha specialises in complex civil litigations and appeals across sectors including healthcare, education and governance.
Guiding spirit
Usha has often been seen supporting her husband on several public platforms and has accompanied him to political events over the years.
She has had an active role in Vance’s political campaigns including his Senate campaigns in 2016 and 2022 in which he emerged victorious.
Vance has also acknowledged her contribution in guiding him and shaping his decisions.
Reports say she played a significant role in helping Vance pen his bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, based on the social decline in rural white America, which went on to be adapted into a film by Ron Howard in 2020
She is said to have registered as a Republican voter in Ohio in 2018.
Effect on Vance’s candidature
Republicans believe Usha can work as a conduit in further cementing US-India relations if Vance is elected as Vice President.
“Usha Vance is a highly accomplished attorney and daughter of Indian immigrants – and her husband brings youth and diversity to the Trump ticket,” AI Mason, entrepreneur and an US-based global real estate investment advisor told ANI.
“She knows the Indian culture and all about India. She can be a big help to her husband in navigating great ties between USA and India,” the businessman who has ties with the Trump family said.
