Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance was named the Republican vice presidential nominee by former President Donald Trump at the party's convention in Milwaukee on Monday.
Vance, known for his bestselling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" addressing issues within the White working class, has ties to India through his marriage to Usha Chilukuri Vance.
Usha, of Indian American descent with roots in Andhra Pradesh, has been a steadfast supporter of JD in his political and community endeavors. She brings legal expertise as a trial lawyer and has experience as a judicial clerk. Once a critic of Trump, Vance expressed gratitude for the support of his Indian-origin wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, who attended the convention.
Who is Usha Chilukuri?
Usha Chilukuri was born in California to Indian immigrant parents and grew up in the suburbs of San Diego. She attended Mt. Carmel High School in Rancho Peñasquitos and later Yale Law School, where she met JD Vance in 2013. Together, they organised a discussion group on "social decline in white America" and quickly bonded, with JD referring to Usha as his "Yale spirit guide." The couple married in 2014 after graduating from Yale Law School.
Usha holds a BA in history from Yale University and an MPhil in early modern history from the University of Cambridge. During her time at Yale, she served as executive development editor of the Yale Law Journal and managing editor of the Yale Journal of Law and Technology. She also participated in the Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic, the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic, and the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project.
JD and Usha Vance have three children: two sons, Ewan and Vivek, and a daughter, Mirabel. Usha has been instrumental in JD's political journey, often accompanying him to events and providing guidance. She has been actively involved in his campaigns, including his successful Senate campaigns in 2016 and 2022, and has been registered to vote as a Republican in Ohio since 2018. JD Vance has publicly acknowledged her influence and support.
Professionally, Usha is a skilled litigator who has worked at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. She has experience in complex civil litigation and appeals across various sectors, including education, government, and healthcare. Usha has also clerked for Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh before his nomination to the Court.
Raised in a suburb of San Diego, Usha's academic achievements include serving as managing editor of the Yale Journal of Law & Technology and executive development editor of the Yale Law Journal. She continued her studies as a Gates fellow at Cambridge, where she engaged with various groups and was a registered Democrat in 2014.
Usha and JD Vance married in Kentucky in 2014, with a Hindu priest presiding over a separate ceremony. Usha has played a subtle yet significant role in JD's success, assisting him in organising his thoughts on social decline in rural white America, which inspired his best-selling memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," later adapted into a film directed by Ron Howard in 2020.
Usha's involvement in JD's political career and her own distinguished legal career position her to potentially make history if her husband is elected and assumes the vice presidency.
Usha Chilukuri Vance, with her impressive credentials and deep connection to Indian values and culture, is expected to play a significant role in her husband's political journey and in strengthening ties between the US and India.
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