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<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head><meta charSet="utf-8"/><title>Inside JD Vance’s Inner Circle</title><meta property="og:url" content="https://www.politico.com/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide"/><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.politico.com/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide"/><meta name="viewport" content="minimum-scale=1, initial-scale=1, width=device-width, shrink-to-fit=no"/><meta name="description" content="Silicon Valley donors, MAGA allies, and political operatives: The networks behind Trump’s VP pick."/><meta property="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"/><meta property="og:type" content="article"/><meta property="article:opinion"/><meta property="twitter:site" content="@politico"/><meta property="twitter:creator" content="@politico"/><meta property="article:author" content="https://www.facebook.com/politico"/><meta property="fb:app_id" content="114037015331397"/><meta property="twitter:title" content="Inside JD Vance’s Inner 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M14.5,90.8H0V.1h35.5c16.7,0,30.3,13.6,30.3,30.3s-13.6,30.3-30.3,30.3H14.5s0,30,0,30ZM14.5,47.5h21c9.4,0,17.1-7.6,17.1-17.1s-7.6-17.1-17.1-17.1H14.5s0,34.1,0,34.1Z"></path></svg></a></div><nav title="POLITICO sections" class="int-style int-style-Navigation__menu styles_menu__DoHKP"><a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/congress" target="_blank" class="int-style int-style-Navigation__link styles_link__23jZy" rel="noreferrer">Congress</a><a href="https://www.politicopro.com" target="_blank" class="int-style int-style-Navigation__link styles_link__23jZy" rel="noreferrer">Pro</a><a href="https://www.eenews.net/" target="_blank" class="int-style int-style-Navigation__link styles_link__23jZy" rel="noreferrer">E&E News</a></nav></header></div><div class="styles_root__N7o6c"><div class="styles_root__1MjXM utility_mb-12__ncpoF"><div class="styles_root__wDDP_ styles_columns-xs-12___a7D1"><a class="styles_eyebrow__5tXh1" href="https://www.politico.com/tag/the-friday-read">THE FRIDAY READ</a><div class="styles_headline__qSh6_"><h1 class="styles_headline-100__uApfd styles_weight-bold__rAHJ0 styles_outlet-magazine__LREUE">We Mapped JD Vance’s Inner Circle</h1></div></div></div></div><main><div class="styles_figma2html__cgq_Z"><div><div id="vance-figma2html-box" class="figma2html"> <div id="f2h-frame-1440" class="f2h-frame frame artboard" data-aspect-ratio="2.38" data-min-width="1440" style="width: 1440px;"> <div class="spacer" style="padding: 0 0 0 0; min-width: 1440px; max-width: none;"></div> <picture> <img id="img-f2h-frame-1440" class="f2h-img" alt="JD Vance's confidants, including Senate staff, Silicon Valley Donors, MAGA allies, Capitol Hill allies and his political operation. " data-src="vance-figma2html/1440px.png" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhCgAKAIAAAB8fHwAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAAKAAoAAAIIhI+py+0PYysAOw==" loading="lazy" draggable="false" decoding="async" width="1440.00" height="605.00"> </picture> </div> <div id="f2h-frame-1024" class="f2h-frame frame artboard" data-aspect-ratio="1.522" data-min-width="1024" data-max-width="1439" style="width: 1024px;"> <div class="spacer" style="padding: 0 0 0 0; min-width: 1024px; max-width: 1439px;"></div> <picture> <img id="img-f2h-frame-1024" class="f2h-img" alt="JD Vance's confidants, including Senate staff, Silicon Valley Donors, MAGA allies, Capitol Hill allies and his political operation. " data-src="vance-figma2html/1024px.png" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhCgAKAIAAAB8fHwAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAAKAAoAAAIIhI+py+0PYysAOw==" loading="lazy" draggable="false" decoding="async" width="1024.00" height="673.00"> </picture> </div> <div id="f2h-frame-768" class="f2h-frame frame artboard" data-aspect-ratio="1.209" data-min-width="768" data-max-width="1023" style="width: 768px;"> <div class="spacer" style="padding: 0 0 0 0; min-width: 768px; max-width: 1023px;"></div> <picture> <img id="img-f2h-frame-768" class="f2h-img" alt="JD Vance's confidants, including Senate staff, Silicon Valley Donors, MAGA allies, Capitol Hill allies and his political operation. " data-src="vance-figma2html/768px.png" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhCgAKAIAAAB8fHwAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAAKAAoAAAIIhI+py+0PYysAOw==" loading="lazy" draggable="false" decoding="async" width="768.00" height="635.00"> </picture> </div> <div id="f2h-frame-600" class="f2h-frame frame artboard" data-aspect-ratio="1.212" data-min-width="600" data-max-width="767" style="width: 600px;"> <div class="spacer" style="padding: 0 0 0 0; min-width: 600px; max-width: 767px;"></div> <picture> <img id="img-f2h-frame-600" class="f2h-img" alt="JD Vance's confidants, including Senate staff, Silicon Valley Donors, MAGA allies, Capitol Hill allies and his political operation. " data-src="vance-figma2html/600px.png" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhCgAKAIAAAB8fHwAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAAKAAoAAAIIhI+py+0PYysAOw==" loading="lazy" draggable="false" decoding="async" width="600.00" height="495.00"> </picture> </div> <div id="f2h-frame-375" class="f2h-frame frame artboard" data-aspect-ratio="0.847" data-max-width="599" style="width: 375px;"> <div class="spacer" style="padding: 0 0 0 0; min-width: 375px; max-width: 599px;"></div> <picture> <img id="img-f2h-frame-375" class="f2h-img" alt="JD Vance's confidants, including Senate staff, Silicon Valley Donors, MAGA allies, Capitol Hill allies and his political operation. " data-src="vance-figma2html/375px.png" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhCgAKAIAAAB8fHwAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAAKAAoAAAIIhI+py+0PYysAOw==" loading="lazy" draggable="false" decoding="async" width="375.00" height="443.00"> </picture> </div> </div></div></div><div class="styles_root__N7o6c"><div class="styles_root__1MjXM"><div class="styles_root__wDDP_ styles_columns-xs-12___a7D1 styles_columns-sm-10__uJyOt styles_offset-sm-1__F0GIs styles_columns-md-8__Hm6PH styles_offset-md-2__ughKl"><div class="styles_dek__r3Ypr"><div class="styles_dek__DUwvt styles_outlet-interactive__EbMRP">Silicon Valley donors, MAGA allies, and political operatives: The networks behind Trump’s VP pick.</div></div><div class="styles_byline__WwjxP"><div class="int-style int-style-Byline styles_container___dHso"><div><div class="int-style int-style-Byline__group">By <span><span class="styles_name__GOSQb"><a href="https://www.politico.com/staff/ian-ward" class="styles_link__rP6bY">Ian Ward</a></span></span></div></div><span class="int-style int-style-Byline__published"><time class="" dateTime="2024-08-09T09:00:42.018Z">08/09/2024 05:00 AM EDT</time></span> | <span class="int-style int-style-Byline__updated">Updated <time class="" dateTime="2024-08-09T16:20:01.191Z">08/09/2024 12:20 PM EDT</time></span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="styles_root__N7o6c"><div class="styles_root__1MjXM"><div class="styles_root__wDDP_ styles_columns-xs__KqYCY styles_columns-md-8__Hm6PH styles_offset-md-2__ughKl"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent styles_container__NqnqF"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph styles_paragraph__Yj3RR">What happens when <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link styles_link__4QLSA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.npr.org/2024/07/18/g-s1-11981/jd-vance-middletown-ohio-reaction">Middletown</a> meets Mar-a-Lago? With JD Vance now on the Republican ticket — and his political operation migrating from Ohio to southern Florida — we’re about to find out. </p><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph styles_paragraph__Yj3RR">During his brief tenure in national politics, the <em class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__emphasis styles_emphasis__uaHp7">Hillbilly Elegy</em> author has <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link styles_link__4QLSA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/15/mr-maga-goes-to-washington-00147054">built an inner circle that reflects his own identity</a>: young, grounded in the “New Right” of the Republican Party, skeptical of mainstream conservative institutions and ideas, and unafraid to play the part of the political pugilist when it serves their interests. Like the 40-year-old Vance, many of his closest advisers scarcely knew the pre-Trump Republican Party — and if they did know the old GOP, they much prefer the new one. </p><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph styles_paragraph__Yj3RR">Vance’s inner circle already bears the imprint of Trump’s influence, with a handful of advisers and staffers who have one foot in Vance’s camp and one foot in Trump world. But unlike Trump, Vance is <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link styles_link__4QLSA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/18/jd-vance-world-view-sources-00168984">deeply plugged into the New Right intellectual circles</a> that have been driving the political debate within the conservative movement since 2016, and he looks to a core group of these writers, academics and right-leaning policy wonks for informal counsel and advice. Thanks to his days as a venture capitalist, he is also closely tied to the right-most flank of Silicon Valley and its <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link styles_link__4QLSA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/09/20/peter-thiel-book-facebook-trump-jd-vance-blake-masters-josh-hawley-513121">techno-libertarian ideologies</a> — some of which have been <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link styles_link__4QLSA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/26/trump-vance-weird-00171470">branded as “weird”</a> by his new opponent, Democratic vice presidential pick Tim Walz. </p><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph styles_paragraph__Yj3RR">For that reason, Vance’s network — or at least <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link styles_link__4QLSA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.wired.com/story/jd-vance-venmo/">his Venmo contacts</a> — looks a bit different than your average politician’s. Here’s our breakdown of the people who guide Vance’s political operation and shape his thinking, based on original reporting and interviews with people who know and have worked with Vance.</p></div></div></div></div><div><div></div><div class="styles_stickyNav__KYkV1"><nav title="Groups" class="styles_list__ZMV9N"><a class="styles_link__3rSyv" href="#ccMZfw-e29" aria-current="false">Staff</a><a class="styles_link__3rSyv" href="#WqW_rVCEHK" aria-current="false">Political Operation</a><a class="styles_link__3rSyv" href="#mDiNT3zr5U" aria-current="false">Silicon Valley Donors</a><a class="styles_link__3rSyv" href="#iNlMkYgK2j" aria-current="false">Capitol Hill Allies</a><a class="styles_link__3rSyv" href="#T_Eqobmw3V" aria-current="false">The New Right Thinkers</a><a class="styles_link__3rSyv" href="#rU8afRhkda" aria-current="false">The MAGA Allies</a></nav></div><div class="styles_root__N7o6c"><div class="styles_groups__CygOQ"><div class="styles_groupsArt__JcwIQ"><div class="styles_absolute__ov_Mb"><div class="styles_group__iCfVW" data-group="Staff"><div class="styles_labeledArt__0pQ0b"><img class="styles_image__zmp89" alt="[object Object]" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Staff.1f60b17a.png"/><div class="styles_label__yQiPD" style="--label-x:24px;--label-y:18px;--label-rotation:-20deg">Staff</div></div></div><div class="styles_group__iCfVW" data-group="Political Operation"><div class="styles_labeledArt__0pQ0b"><img class="styles_image__zmp89" alt="[object Object]" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/PoliticalOperation.3d10bdeb.png"/><div class="styles_label__yQiPD" style="--label-x:100px;--label-y:-8px;--label-rotation:-4deg">Political Operation</div></div></div><div class="styles_group__iCfVW" data-group="Silicon Valley Donors"><div class="styles_labeledArt__0pQ0b"><img class="styles_image__zmp89" alt="[object Object]" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/SiliconValley.935f6a83.png"/><div class="styles_label__yQiPD" style="--label-x:80px;--label-y:2px;--label-rotation:-12deg">Silicon Valley Donors</div></div></div><div class="styles_group__iCfVW" data-group="Capitol Hill Allies"><div class="styles_labeledArt__0pQ0b"><img class="styles_image__zmp89" alt="[object Object]" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/CapitolHill.37e7045a.png"/><div class="styles_label__yQiPD" style="--label-x:80px;--label-y:0px;--label-rotation:-10deg">Capitol Hill Allies</div></div></div><div class="styles_group__iCfVW" data-group="The New Right Thinkers"><div class="styles_labeledArt__0pQ0b"><img class="styles_image__zmp89" alt="[object Object]" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Thinkers.dd6e51fd.png"/><div class="styles_label__yQiPD" style="--label-x:84px;--label-y:-3px;--label-rotation:-4deg">The New Right Thinkers</div></div></div><div class="styles_group__iCfVW" data-group="The MAGA Allies"><div class="styles_labeledArt__0pQ0b"><img class="styles_image__zmp89" alt="[object Object]" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/PoliticalRight.47e2a62b.png"/><div class="styles_label__yQiPD" style="--label-x:50px;--label-y:8px;--label-rotation:-13deg">The MAGA Allies</div></div></div></div></div><div><div><section class="styles_group__dTbap styles_isFirst__Aa592" id="ccMZfw-e29"><h2 class="utility_sr-only__UEJN0">Staff</h2><div class="styles_image__3QXyy"><div class="styles_labeledArt__0pQ0b"><img class="styles_image__zmp89" alt="[object Object]" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Staff.1f60b17a.png"/><div class="styles_label__yQiPD" style="--label-x:24px;--label-y:18px;--label-rotation:-20deg">Staff</div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Jacob Reses" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Reses.8922d7a6.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Jacob Reses</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Chief of Staff</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Reses — a graduate of Princeton University in 2013 and Stanford Law School in 2023 — was a close friend of Vance’s before becoming his chief of staff in 2022. Prior to that, he was a senior policy adviser to Sen. Josh Hawley and an aide to Russell Vought at Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of the conservative think-tank the Heritage Foundation. Reses is known as Vance’s right hand man and closest political strategist on Capitol Hill, handling much of the day-to-day political blocking and tackling for Vance. Like Vance, he has undergone something of an ideological transformation: He <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/meet-jd-vances-jewish-chief-of-staff-jacob-reses/">interned for both Hillary Clinton and John Kerry</a> when he was younger, before moving to the right at Princeton and eventually embracing Vance’s brand of conservative populism.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="James Braid" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Braid.c9ecc45e.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">James Braid</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">A hard-charging (and hard-smoking) aide, Braid is the architect of Vance’s major policy initiatives in the Senate — including the Rail Safety Act — and is trusted by Vance with translating his New Right worldview into policy proposals. Before working for Vance, Braid was a legislative assistant at the Heritage Foundation’s lobbying arm and a staffer for Russell Vought during his stint as the director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Trump administration.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Wells King" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/King.223dd34e.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Wells King</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Senior Policy Advisor</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Another of Vance’s young guns, King worked as the research director of American Compass — the hub of the self-described new “<a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/09/the-nerd-trying-to-turn-the-gop-populist.html">pro-worker conservative economics</a>” in Washington run by the conservative economist Oren Cass — before joining Vance’s office in 2022. Before that, he was a policy advisor to GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, held a fellowship at the conservative Claremont Institute and worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. He plans to leave Vance’s office in August to attend Harvard Law School.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Aaron Kofsky" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Kofsky.975a06cc.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Aaron Kofsky</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Financial Policy Advisor</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Kofsky — who worked as a policy advisor to Securities and Exchange Commissioner Mark Uyeda before joining Vance’s office — is a key influence on Vance’s economic thinking and his work on the Senate Banking Committee. He has helped Vance flesh out his opposition to some cryptocurrency regulation and his effort to <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/01/warren-vance-failed-banking-crackdown-bill-00099579">introduce new banking regulations</a> after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March 2023.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Andrew Baker" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Baker.af05730e.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Andrew Baker</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">National Security Advisor</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">A former foreign service officer with two advanced degrees in international relations from the University of Oxford, Baker has played an important role in shaping Vance’s foreign policy positions, especially his <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/04/18/jd-vance-ukraine-aid-00153201">opposition to U.S. aid to Ukraine</a> and his skepticism of NATO.</p></div></div></div></section><div class="styles_container__zuzL0 utility_my-10__5FWqA"><p class="int-style int-style-Ad__disclaimer styles_disclaimer__mAVi3">Advertisement</p><div class="int-style int-style-Ad__placeholder styles_placeholder__DFbft styles_placeholder-box__2jfBa styles_active__r8ze6"></div><div id="ad-R13a7p6" class="int-style int-style-Ad__mount styles_mount__ZjSak styles_mount-box__uyF3I"></div></div></div><div><section class="styles_group__dTbap" id="WqW_rVCEHK"><h2 class="utility_sr-only__UEJN0">Political Operation</h2><div class="styles_image__3QXyy"><div class="styles_labeledArt__0pQ0b"><img class="styles_image__zmp89" alt="[object Object]" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/PoliticalOperation.3d10bdeb.png"/><div class="styles_label__yQiPD" style="--label-x:100px;--label-y:-8px;--label-rotation:-4deg">Political Operation</div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Jai Chabria" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Chabria.5cc7a5f7.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Jai Chabria</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Ohio Strategist </span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Chabria oversaw Vance’s ground game in Ohio during his 2022 Senate campaign and remains one of his closest links to the state’s Republican establishment. In 2017, Chabria worked as a consultant for Vance’s short-lived non-profit, <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/08/us/politics/jd-vance-ohio-senate-nonprofit.html">Our Ohio Renewal</a>, which hired only a handful of staffers before downsizing in 2018 and eventually going belly-up in 2021.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Luke Thompson" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Thompson.5d0f20fc.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Luke Thompson</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">GOP Strategist </span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Thompson ran Vance’s allied super PAC in 2022 and is credited with crafting the unorthodox strategy that allowed the super PAC — and its major funder, Peter Thiel — to pick up the political slack that Vance’s bare-bones campaign couldn’t sustain. As part of that strategy, Thompson set up <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/03/jd-vance-win-ohio-primary-00029881">a secret public website</a> containing troves of documents — including internal polling, memos and opposition research — designed to allow the super PAC to share information with the campaign without violating campaign finance law. The site was eventually discovered by Vance’s opponents, causing a major black eye for the campaign.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="William Martin" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Martin.f00b4814.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">William Martin</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Communications Director</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Martin — a native of Cincinnati — joined Vance’s 2022 campaign after working for Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and became his communications director when Vance entered office. He has since transferred over to the presidential campaign, where he will run Vance’s communications operation from Trump campaign headquarters in Florida. He is the executor of Vance’s media strategy: Stay close to friendly conservative media, tee off with adversarial cable news interviewers, and otherwise pick your spots very carefully.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Luke Schroeder" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Schroeder.e6da6405.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Luke Schroeder</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Deputy Communications Director</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">A hold-over from the 2022 Senate campaign, Schroeder was Vance’s press secretary in the Senate before moving over to the 2024 campaign. Before that, he worked as a junior staffer in the White House Communications Office under Trump. Together with Martin, Vance’s communications director, Schroeder — who is in his late 20s — epitomizes the youthful, insurgent energy of Vance’s closest staff.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Andrew Surabian" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Surabian.291af3e4.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Andrew Surabian</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">GOP Strategist</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">A close advisor to Donald Trump Jr., Surabian is a primary conduit between Vance’s political operation and Trump world at Mar-a-Lago. While helping to run Vance's campaign in 2022, he is <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/16/donald-trump-jd-vance-relationship-00168422">credited with orchestrating the rapprochement</a> between Vance and Don Jr. that ultimately led to Trump’s endorsement of Vance. Prior to that, he was a key member of Trump’s “war room” during the 2016 campaign and served as a key advisor to Steve Bannon during his stint as Trump’s chief of staff.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Tony Fabrizio" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Fabrizio.e929850c.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/tony-fabrizio">Tony Fabrizio</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">GOP Pollster</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">The long-time Trump pollster worked closely with Vance’s allied super PAC during the 2022 election and remains close with his political operation. Early in the 2022 campaign, he authored <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/07/jd-vance-warning-ohio-senate-race-00006310">a series of memos</a> arguing that Vance’s reputation as a moderate and “anti-Trump” conservative was seriously harming his electability — and which are credited with pushing Vance to embrace Trump more publicly.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Taylor van Kirk" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/vanKirk.fd818066.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Taylor van Kirk</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">National Press Secretary</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">An Ohio-based communications strategist, van Kirk was brought on board after Vance joined the ticket to serve as his traveling press secretary and communications aide. She works closely with William Martin, Vance’s long-time communications director, to set messaging for the campaign. Before working for Vance, she worked as the press secretary for the Ohio speaker of the House and for a crisis communications firm in Washington.</p></div></div></div></section><div class="styles_container__zuzL0 utility_my-10__5FWqA"><p class="int-style int-style-Ad__disclaimer styles_disclaimer__mAVi3">Advertisement</p><div class="int-style int-style-Ad__placeholder styles_placeholder__DFbft styles_placeholder-box__2jfBa styles_active__r8ze6"></div><div id="ad-R15a7p6" class="int-style int-style-Ad__mount styles_mount__ZjSak styles_mount-box__uyF3I"></div></div></div><div><section class="styles_group__dTbap" id="mDiNT3zr5U"><h2 class="utility_sr-only__UEJN0">Silicon Valley Donors</h2><div class="styles_image__3QXyy"><div class="styles_labeledArt__0pQ0b"><img class="styles_image__zmp89" alt="[object Object]" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/SiliconValley.935f6a83.png"/><div class="styles_label__yQiPD" style="--label-x:80px;--label-y:2px;--label-rotation:-12deg">Silicon Valley Donors</div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Peter Thiel" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Thiel.bacfeaca.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/peter-thiel">Peter Thiel</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Venture Capitalist</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">The infamous Silicon Valley venture capitalist is many things to Vance: A mentor, a former boss, an intellectual and spiritual advisor, a friend and a major donor. The men met in 2011 while Vance was a student at Yale Law School, and Vance later worked for Thiel’s venture capital firm, Mithril Capital, before spinning off his own firm with Thiel’s backing. (Like Thiel, the name of Vance’s VC firm is a reference to <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/19/lord-of-the-rings-jd-vance-00169372"><em class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__emphasis">The Lord of the Rings</em></a>.) Thiel subsequently donated $15 million to Vance’s allied super PAC during the 2022 campaign, making him the campaign’s largest backer.</p><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Thiel is a significant intellectual influence on Vance as well: His embrace of Christianity played a major role in Vance’s decision to convert to Catholicism in 2019, and Thiel’s reactionary techno-libertarianism remains a touchstone of Vance’s own political outlook.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="David Sacks" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Sacks.40525ae8.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">David Sacks</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Investor</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">A core member of the “PayPal mafia,” the <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/168125/david-sacks-elon-musk-peter-thiel">conservative entrepreneur and podcaster</a> rose to prominence on the right railing against “wokeness” and criticizing neoconservative foreign policy on his popular podcast, “All In.” He hopped on the Vance train in 2022 with a $1 million dollar donation to his allied super PAC, and since then, he has become an outspoken supporter of Vance and a key financial backer for Trump. In June, Sacks held a $300,000-a-head fundraising dinner for Trump at his San Francisco mansion, which Vance attended and helped organize, and along with Thiel and Tucker Carlson, he reportedly <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/07/16/trump-vp-pick-jd-vance-rnc">personally lobbied Trump</a> to pick Vance. Vance has called him “one of my closest confidants” and helped introduce him to Donald Trump Jr.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Elon Musk" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Musk.4d64b7aa.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Entreprenuer</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Musk was a relative latecomer to Vance’s Silicon Valley fan club, but he rallied around Vance in the days before the RNC, reportedly urging Trump in private conversations to pick Vance. Since then, Vance <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://x.com/ray4tesla/status/1813452740179501231">has praised Musk</a> as “a throwback to an older generation of American entrepreneurs [who] builds real things.” Musk has endorsed Trump and reportedly said that he intends to donate $45 million per month to the Trump-Vance campaign until November, though he <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/elon-musk-trump-donation-45-million-pac-rcna163404">later denied that figure</a>.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Chamath Palihapitiya" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Palihapitiya.98a8e37b.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Chamath Palihapitiya</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Venture Capitalist</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">An early Facebook executive turned venture capitalist, Palihapitiya now co-hosts a popular podcast with prominent Vance backer David Sacks and helped Sacks and Vance organize a major Silicon Valley fundraiser in June. He was part of the core Silicon Valley group that backed Vance for vice president, calling Vance “<a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/17/technology/jd-vance-tech-silicon-valley.html">an exceptional pick</a>” after he was selected.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Christopher Buskirk" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Buskirk.f5853a11.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Christopher Buskirk</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Entrepreneur</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">A self-proclaimed “serial entrepreneur” and the head of the venture capital firm “1789 Capital,” Buskirk is leading a <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/us/politics/trump-super-pac-voter-turnout.html">pro-Trump super PAC</a> that has committed to spending $45 million on a turnout campaign in swing states. Before Vance entered the Senate, he worked with Buskirk to set up the <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/us/politics/republican-donors-rockbridge-network-trump.html">Rockbridge Network</a>, a network of wealthy pro-Trump donors — including Thiel — to support populist-nationalist candidates. Buskirk is also the publisher of the online conservative journal American Greatness.</p></div></div></div></section><div class="styles_container__zuzL0 utility_my-10__5FWqA"><p class="int-style int-style-Ad__disclaimer styles_disclaimer__mAVi3">Advertisement</p><div class="int-style int-style-Ad__placeholder styles_placeholder__DFbft styles_placeholder-box__2jfBa styles_active__r8ze6"></div><div id="ad-R17a7p6" class="int-style int-style-Ad__mount styles_mount__ZjSak styles_mount-box__uyF3I"></div></div></div><div><section class="styles_group__dTbap" id="iNlMkYgK2j"><h2 class="utility_sr-only__UEJN0">Capitol Hill Allies</h2><div class="styles_image__3QXyy"><div class="styles_labeledArt__0pQ0b"><img class="styles_image__zmp89" alt="[object Object]" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/CapitolHill.37e7045a.png"/><div class="styles_label__yQiPD" style="--label-x:80px;--label-y:0px;--label-rotation:-10deg">Capitol Hill Allies</div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Sen. Josh Hawley" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Hawley.f7d28415.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/tag/josh-hawley">Sen. Josh Hawley</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">R-Mo.</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">The two most prominent figureheads of “<a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2024/07/11/two-versions-of-the-future-are-colliding-in-d-c-00167693">national conservatism</a>” on Capitol Hill, Hawley and Vance have teamed up on legislation to <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-vance-brown-and-colleagues-introduce-bipartisan-bill-improve-rail-safety/">raise safety standards in the rail industry</a> and change the way the Department of Defense <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senators-vance-hawley-introduce-legislation-to-prevent-further-accounting-errors-at-the-department-of-defense/">accounts for the cost of U.S. support for Ukraine</a>. In May 2024 they co-authored a letter with Sen. Marco Rubio urging the Biden administration to <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.hawley.senate.gov/senators-hawley-vance-and-rubio-urge-biden-block-us-steel-sale-foreign-company/">block the acquisition of a major American steel manufacturer</a> by a Japanese company.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Sen. Mike Lee" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Lee.9fb1670c.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/mike-lee">Sen. Mike Lee</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">R-Utah</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Lee was the <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/07/15/rnc-live-updates-coverage/mike-lee-announces-vp-00168368">first person to publicly announce Vance</a> — whom he considers a close friend — as Trump’s vice-presidential pick at the Republican National Convention. On Capitol Hill, Vance and Lee <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/06-13-2023/vance-holds-doj-noms/">spearheaded a Senate hold</a> on all of the Biden administration’s nominees to the Department of Justice to protest the DOJ's role in the indictments of former President Donald Trump. The duo denounced the indictments as “<a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senate-conservatives-announce-sweeping-hold-policy-on-biden-lawfare-nominees/">radical lawfare</a>” and “sham proceedings” against Trump.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Sen. Tom Cotton" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Cotton.09d54b79.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/tom-cotton">Sen. Tom Cotton</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">R-Ark.</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Cotton has teamed up with Vance on two notable pieces of legislation in the Senate: One bill, co-sponsored by Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly, to <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/08/kelly-vance-cotton-senate-manufacturing-legislation">boost the number of “shovel-ready” manufacturing sites</a>, and another, introduced in June 2024, to amend the rules surrounding birthright citizenship to <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-amend-birthright-citizenship">exclude the children of undocumented immigrants</a>. They have diverged sharpy on foreign policy, however, with Cotton supporting U.S. aid to Ukraine and Vance opposing it.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Sen. Marco Rubio" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Rubio.60b46fd4.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/marco-rubio">Sen. Marco Rubio</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">R-Fla.</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Before he was a competitor for Trump’s vice-presidential slot, Rubio worked with Vance on <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/rubio-vance-reintroduce-bill-to-empower-worker-voice/">a bill to allow workers to bypass unions</a> when negotiating with their employers. The bill — which was seen as the conservative response to <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-shift/2022/08/15/unions-post-reconciliation-pro-act-push-00051726">the PRO Act</a> — failed to garner support among Republicans.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Rep. Jim Banks" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Banks.7e2d47a0.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/tag/jim-banks">Rep. Jim Banks</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">R-Ind.</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">The Indiana Republican joined forces with Vance on a slew of higher-education related legislation: a <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.vance.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Bill-Text_College-Employment-Accountability-Act.pdf">bill to prevent American universities</a> from hiring undocumented immigrants, one to <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.vance.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Vance-College-Admissions-Accountability-Act-of-2023.pdf">ban affirmative action in college admissions</a> and another to require universities <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4145">to disclose gifts or contracts with foreign adversaries</a> like China or Iran. Like Vance, he has opposed U.S. aid to Ukraine and <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/04/republican-veterans-anti-interventionists-00164026">credits his military service</a> with pushing him to embrace a more non-interventionist foreign policy.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Rep. Chip Roy" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Roy.4b228213.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/tag/chip-roy">Rep. Chip Roy</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">R-Texas</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">The Texas Republican has become one of Vance’s most vocal anti-Ukraine allies in the House, co-authoring a series of bicameral letters <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-vance-colleagues-reject-indefinite-war-in-ukraine/">opposing additional U.S. aid</a> to Ukraine and requesting more information <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-vance-reps-chip-roy-matt-gaetz-request-clarification-from-biden-national-security-advisor-on-ukraine-spending/">from the White House</a> and <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-vance-reps-chip-roy-matt-gaetz-demand-biden-administration-clarify-military-adviser-policy-in-ukraine/">the Department of Defense</a> about the details of U.S. aid.</p></div></div></div></section><div class="styles_container__zuzL0 utility_my-10__5FWqA"><p class="int-style int-style-Ad__disclaimer styles_disclaimer__mAVi3">Advertisement</p><div class="int-style int-style-Ad__placeholder styles_placeholder__DFbft styles_placeholder-box__2jfBa styles_active__r8ze6"></div><div id="ad-R19a7p6" class="int-style int-style-Ad__mount styles_mount__ZjSak styles_mount-box__uyF3I"></div></div></div><div><section class="styles_group__dTbap" id="T_Eqobmw3V"><h2 class="utility_sr-only__UEJN0">The New Right Thinkers</h2><div class="styles_image__3QXyy"><div class="styles_labeledArt__0pQ0b"><img class="styles_image__zmp89" alt="[object Object]" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Thinkers.dd6e51fd.png"/><div class="styles_label__yQiPD" style="--label-x:84px;--label-y:-3px;--label-rotation:-4deg">The New Right Thinkers</div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Patrick Deneen" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Deneen.7c3dffeb.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Patrick Deneen</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Philosopher</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">A professor of political theory at the University of Notre Dame, Deneen is the <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/06/08/the-new-right-patrick-deneen-00100279">most prominent academic proponent of “postliberalism,”</a> a political philosophy that eschews small-L liberalism’s focus on the protection of individuals’ rights and liberties in favor promoting a “postliberal” order grounded in the promotion of conservative and religious values. Vance has cited Deneen as a major intellectual influence and appeared at events with him, in addition to <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFJO3XhorjI">identifying himself a member</a> of the “postliberal right.”</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Sohrab Ahmari" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Ahmari.66ea8335.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Sohrab Ahmari</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Writer</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Ahmari has promoted a version of “<a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.compactmag.com/article/how-the-gop-can-mend-fences-with-unions/">pro-worker conservatism</a>” and “<a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://compactmag.substack.com/p/the-new-center-is-here">new centrism</a>” from his post as the co-editor of <em class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__emphasis">Compact Magazine</em>, an online journal that’s popular on the populist right. Though he has <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.newsweek.com/i-was-wrong-gop-will-never-party-working-class-opinion-1819644">recently grown more skeptical</a> of the Republican Party’s appetite for a genuinely populist political program, he remains close with Vance, having <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.newstatesman.com/ns-interview/2024/07/hillbilly-energy">profiled him</a> for several publications and hosted him at a <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.ncronline.org/news/new-right-academics-argue-biblical-lawmaking-steubenville-conference">buzzy conference for “Common Good” conservatives</a> in 2022.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Yoram Hazony" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Hazony.ea1302c9.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Yoram Hazony</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Philosopher</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Hazony, an Israeli-born philosopher and former aide to Benjamin Netenyahu, is the intellectual godfather of the “national conservatism” movement, which formed during the Trump era as a big-tent intellectual movement for the populist-nationalist right. His 2018 book <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://nationalconservatism.org/publications/the-virtue-of-nationalism/"><em class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__emphasis">The Virtue of Nationalism</em></a> is a key text of the nationalist right. Vance has been a regular speaker and attendee at the annual NatCon conference since 2019 and <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://jewishinsider.com/2021/09/jd-vance-ohio-senate-race/">has acknowledged Hazony’s influence</a> on his thinking about nationalism and public religion.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Curtis Yarvin" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Yarvin.6bcefc99.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Curtis Yarvin</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Blogger/philosopher</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Yarvin is a self-identified monarchist writer and the intellectual leader of the “neo-reactionary” or “NRx” movement, premised on the conviction that American democracy has degenerated into a corrupt oligarchy that will eventually give way to a monarchical “national CEO” or dictator. While blogging under the pseudonym “Mencius Moldbug,” Yarvin <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23373795/curtis-yarvin-neoreaction-redpill-moldbug">dabbled in race science</a>, though he has <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.unqualified-reservations.org/2007/11/why-i-am-not-white-nationalist/">disavowed white nationalism</a>. Vance <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets">has called Yarvin a friend</a> and <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMq1ZEcyztY">cited his work in interviews</a>.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Rod Dreher" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Dreher.c6ffd06c.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Rod Dreher</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Writer/Philosopher</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Dreher is an orthodox Christian writer who rose to prominence as the leader of the “crunchy cons,” or conservatives who embrace the countercultural, back-to-the-land attitudes typically associated with the hippie left. More recently, he has encouraged Christian conservatives to embrace “<a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.amazon.com/Benedict-Option-Strategy-Christians-Post-Christian/dp/0735213291">the Benedict Option</a>” of withdrawing from mainstream secular society to build self-sustaining communities dedicated to cultivating Christian virtue. (He has moved to Hungary and become a supporter of <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/what-rod-dreher-sees-in-viktor-orban">Viktor Orbán’s government</a>.) He was among the first conservative intellectuals to embrace Vance after the publication of <em class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__emphasis">Hillbilly Elegy</em> in 2016 and remains friends with him today, even attending Vance’s baptism into the Catholic Church in 2019.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Oren Cass" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Cass.877ab08b.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Oren Cass</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Economist</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Cass was an economic policy advisor to Mitt Romney in 2012 before breaking with the GOP’s long-standing consensus on free market fundamentalism to become a leading apostle of the “new conservative economics,” grounded in economic nationalism, protectionism and a nominally “pro-worker” agenda. Vance <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8I2YcSgo8c">appears regularly at his think-tank</a>, American Compass, and has cited Cass’s work as a primary influence on his economic thinking.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Elbridge Colby" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Colby.ff5cb26b.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Elbridge Colby</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Foreign Policy Expert</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">A veteran of Trump’s Department of Defense, Colby has become the <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/11/tucker-carlson-eldridge-colby-00090211">New Right’s go-to foreign policy expert</a>. He describes his own foreign policy position as one of “prioritization,” arguing that the U.S. needs to limit its involvement abroad so it can focus on the unique threat of an ascendent China. Vance has proven to be even more avidly anti-interventionist and skeptical of multilateral institutions like NATO than Colby, but he has <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXH1p8_jhc8">cited Colby as an influence</a>, and <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3zhUyDzejg">his public remarks on foreign policy</a> bear the imprint of Colby’s thinking on prioritization.</p></div></div></div></section><div class="styles_container__zuzL0 utility_my-10__5FWqA"><p class="int-style int-style-Ad__disclaimer styles_disclaimer__mAVi3">Advertisement</p><div class="int-style int-style-Ad__placeholder styles_placeholder__DFbft styles_placeholder-box__2jfBa styles_active__r8ze6"></div><div id="ad-R1ba7p6" class="int-style int-style-Ad__mount styles_mount__ZjSak styles_mount-box__uyF3I"></div></div></div><div><section class="styles_group__dTbap" id="rU8afRhkda"><h2 class="utility_sr-only__UEJN0">The MAGA Allies</h2><div class="styles_image__3QXyy"><div class="styles_labeledArt__0pQ0b"><img class="styles_image__zmp89" alt="[object Object]" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/PoliticalRight.47e2a62b.png"/><div class="styles_label__yQiPD" style="--label-x:50px;--label-y:8px;--label-rotation:-13deg">The MAGA Allies</div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Kevin Roberts" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Roberts.bb6e8771.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv">Kevin Roberts</span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">President of the Heritage Foundation </span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">The leader of the organization behind <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/08/02/project-2025-trump-inside-story-00172299">the now-infamous Project 2025</a>, Roberts is a long-time Vance ally in Washington, <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/15/mr-maga-goes-to-washington-00147054">having called him</a> “one of the leaders — if not the leader — of our movement.” The two men have <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZbsiKEhy-8">appeared together at public events</a> and <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4260843-dont-hold-up-israel-aid-to-further-ukraine-war-funding/">co-authored op-eds</a> about foreign policy, and Vance even <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://x.com/JDVance1/status/1803537040555876682">wrote the foreword to Roberts’ forthcoming book</a>.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Russell Vought" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Vought.f69eb2d5.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/tag/russell-vought">Russell Vought</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Former Trump OMB Director</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Vought — the former director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Trump administration and a contender for Trump’s next chief of staff — is a staunch social conservative and a hard-line budget hawk whose organization, the Center for Renewing America, serves as a behind-the-scenes brain trust for the most conservative members of Congress. In January, Vought told <em class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__emphasis">POLITICO Magazine</em> that he is in “regular contact” with Vance’s Hill office and that “we probably have one of the closest relationships with [Vance’s] office that we do with any Hill office.”</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Tucker Carlson" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Carlson.a68eb454.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/tucker-carlson">Tucker Carlson</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">Media Personality</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">The former Fox News superstar used his prime-time show to promote Vance’s Senate candidacy in 2022 and has remained one of his most ardent public supporters. Vance is a regular guest on Carlson’s new platform, where the two men have joined forces to <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://tuckercarlson.com/uncensored-jd-vance-ukraine">oppose additional U.S. aid to Ukraine</a>, and Carlson reportedly <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/07/16/trump-vp-pick-jd-vance-rnc">personally lobbied Trump</a> to pick Vance as his vice presidential candidate in the days leading up to the Republican National Convention. “He’s by far the smartest and the deepest [senator] I’ve ever met,” Carlson <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/15/mr-maga-goes-to-washington-00147054">told <em class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__emphasis">POLITICO Magazine</em></a> in January.</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Steve Bannon" src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Bannon.82605ed8.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/stephen-bannon">Steve Bannon</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl">MAGA Impresario</span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">The former Trump strategist is another of Vance’s key allies in the conservative media ecosphere, frequently <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJF2v8sH0hs">hosting Vance</a> <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/100070055152736/videos/watch-jd-vances-interview-with-steve-bannon-and-jack-posobiec-if-joe-biden-only-/237887618259912/">on his show</a>, <em class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__emphasis">War Room</em>, and promoting him to his sizable social media following. In an <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/15/mr-maga-goes-to-washington-00147054">interview with <em class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__emphasis">POLITICO Magazine</em></a> in January, Bannon suggested that Vance could become the “St. Paul” to Trump’s Jesus — the convert who spreads the gospel of Trumpism to the world. “You know, Jesus played the small rooms until St. Paul came around,” Bannon said. “It took the zeal of St. Paul to turn Jesus into a headliner.”</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_container__ZbPrP styles_direction-vertical___z8sR styles_align-topLeft__b2F0H styles_gap-4__BlhAQ utility_px-6__5pODv utility_py-6__mdZGf utility_mb-6__Y8ybt utility_relative__eVWdx" style="--AutoLayout-bg:#f7f3f2"><div class="styles_personDetail__twK_Y"><img alt="Donald Trump Jr." src="/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/_next/static/media/Trump.e37441b0.png"/></div><h3 class="styles_heading__B_E1G"><span class="styles_name__NOAdv"><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/donald-trump-jr">Donald Trump Jr.</a></span><span class="styles_position__ssGXl"></span></h3><div class="styles_text__Y9XWW"><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph">Don Jr. met Vance during his 2022 Senate race and the two men became close friends, with Don Jr. helping broker the rapprochement between Vance and his father that eventually led to Trump’s endorsement. Since then, the two remain “<a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/15/mr-maga-goes-to-washington-00147054">regular texting buddies</a>,” with Vance <a class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__link" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://rumble.com/v58f8q3-jd-vance-live-from-mar-a-lago-triggered-ep.159.html?playlist_id=Mv8KkinDeIg">frequently appearing on Don Jr.’ podcast</a> and Don Jr. serving as one of Vance’s main advocates at Mar-a-Lago. Their friendship paid off during the Republican vice presidential sweepstakes, when Don Jr. publicly and privately advocated for his father to pick Vance, whom he saw as the best candidate to carry forth his father’s legacy.</p></div></div></div></section><div class="styles_container__zuzL0 utility_my-10__5FWqA"><p class="int-style int-style-Ad__disclaimer styles_disclaimer__mAVi3">Advertisement</p><div class="int-style int-style-Ad__placeholder styles_placeholder__DFbft styles_placeholder-box__2jfBa styles_active__r8ze6"></div><div id="ad-R1da7p6" class="int-style int-style-Ad__mount styles_mount__ZjSak styles_mount-box__uyF3I"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="styles_root__N7o6c utility_my-6__rDu7_"><div class="styles_root__1MjXM"><div class="styles_root__wDDP_ styles_columns-xs__KqYCY styles_columns-md-8__Hm6PH styles_offset-md-2__ughKl"><div class="styles_correction__K6nYv">CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misstated Andrew Surabian's role in JD Vance's 2022 Senate campaign.</div></div></div></div></main><div class="styles_footer__EIqjd"><footer class="int-style int-style-InteractiveFooter styles_footer__toRu2 utility_mt-20__NcI_d"><div class="int-style int-style-InteractiveFooter__content styles_content__qIGkz"><div class="styles_root__N7o6c"><div class="styles_root__1MjXM"><div class="styles_root__wDDP_ styles_columns-md-6__UF0fE utility_mt-6__Z4oPB"><div class="int-style int-style-InteractiveFooter__block styles_block__LXsEq"><h2 class="styles_title__uwVYX">Credits</h2><div class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent"><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph"><strong class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__strong">Editing</strong>: Patrick Caldwell and Andrew Milligan</p><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph"><strong class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__strong">Design and Development</strong>: Anna Wiederkehr and Andrew Milligan</p><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph"><strong class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__strong">Photo Editing</strong>: Claudine Hellmuth</p><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph"><strong class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__strong">Photos</strong>: AP, Getty Images, Francis Chung/POLITICO, John Shinkle/POLITICO, Lauren Lancaster/The New York Times via Redux Pictures, Wikimedia Commons, LinkedIn, X, Courtesy of James Braid</p><p class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__paragraph"><strong class="int-style int-style-MarkdownContent__strong">Lead and share art</strong>: Anna Wiederkehr/POLITICO (source images via sources listed above)</p></div></div></div><div class="styles_root__wDDP_ styles_columns-md-6__UF0fE utility_mt-6__Z4oPB"><div class="int-style int-style-InteractiveFooter__block styles_block__LXsEq"><h2 class="styles_title__uwVYX">Legal</h2><div><a href="https://www.politico.com/terms-of-service" target="_blank" class="styles_legalLink__wD6wD">Terms of Service</a><a href="https://www.politico.com/privacy-policy" target="_blank" class="styles_legalLink__wD6wD">Privacy Policy</a><a href="#" data-show-on-geo="CA,CO,CT,VA" class="ot-sdk-show-settings styles_legalLink__wD6wD styles_hidden__ZRgmN">Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information and Opt Out of Targeted Advertising</a></div></div></div></div><div class="styles_root__1MjXM"><div class="styles_root__wDDP_ styles_autolayout__QHqKg utility_mt-6__Z4oPB"><div class="int-style int-style-InteractiveFooter__copyright">© 2024 POLITICO LLC</div></div></div></div></div></footer></div></div></div></div><script id="__NEXT_DATA__" type="application/json">{"props":{"pageProps":{"data":[{"key":"copy","url":"https://www.politico.com/interactives/apps/clio/form/dict/44550037.json","data":{"people":[{"lastName":"Reses","tagPage":"","role":"Chief of Staff","ad":true,"labelX":"240px","_keyid":"hnbf_DhiF6","labelY":"40px","fullName":"Jacob Reses","description":"Reses — a graduate of Princeton University in 2013 and Stanford Law School in 2023 — was a close friend of Vance’s before becoming his chief of staff in 2022. Prior to that, he was a senior policy adviser to Sen. Josh Hawley and an aide to Russell Vought at Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of the conservative think-tank the Heritage Foundation. Reses is known as Vance’s right hand man and closest political strategist on Capitol Hill, handling much of the day-to-day political blocking and tackling for Vance. Like Vance, he has undergone something of an ideological transformation: He [interned for both Hillary Clinton and John Kerry](https://www.timesofisrael.com/meet-jd-vances-jewish-chief-of-staff-jacob-reses/) when he was younger, before moving to the right at Princeton and eventually embracing Vance’s brand of conservative populism.","label":"","labelRotation":"32deg","group":"Staff"},{"lastName":"Braid","tagPage":"","role":"Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director","ad":"noAd","labelX":"4px","_keyid":"AsYlvQeAZ6","labelY":"140px","fullName":"James Braid","description":"A hard-charging (and hard-smoking) aide, Braid is the architect of Vance’s major policy initiatives in the Senate — including the Rail Safety Act — and is trusted by Vance with translating his New Right worldview into policy proposals. Before working for Vance, Braid was a legislative assistant at the Heritage Foundation’s lobbying arm and a staffer for Russell Vought during his stint as the director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Trump administration.","label":"","labelRotation":"-26deg","group":"Staff"},{"lastName":"King","tagPage":null,"role":"Senior Policy Advisor","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"ubdnl_y8Rc","labelY":null,"fullName":"Wells King","description":"Another of Vance’s young guns, King worked as the research director of American Compass — the hub of the self-described new “[pro-worker conservative economics](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/09/the-nerd-trying-to-turn-the-gop-populist.html)” in Washington run by the conservative economist Oren Cass — before joining Vance’s office in 2022. Before that, he was a policy advisor to GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, held a fellowship at the conservative Claremont Institute and worked as a management consultant at McKinsey \u0026 Company. He plans to leave Vance’s office in August to attend Harvard Law School.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Staff"},{"lastName":"Kofsky","tagPage":null,"role":"Financial Policy Advisor","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"wzs7QCWSCi","labelY":null,"fullName":"Aaron Kofsky","description":"Kofsky — who worked as a policy advisor to Securities and Exchange Commissioner Mark Uyeda before joining Vance’s office — is a key influence on Vance’s economic thinking and his work on the Senate Banking Committee. He has helped Vance flesh out his opposition to some cryptocurrency regulation and his effort to [introduce new banking regulations](https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/01/warren-vance-failed-banking-crackdown-bill-00099579) after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March 2023.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Staff"},{"lastName":"Baker","tagPage":null,"role":"National Security Advisor","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"yaxTUwQYww","labelY":null,"fullName":"Andrew Baker","description":"A former foreign service officer with two advanced degrees in international relations from the University of Oxford, Baker has played an important role in shaping Vance’s foreign policy positions, especially his [opposition to U.S. aid to Ukraine](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/04/18/jd-vance-ukraine-aid-00153201) and his skepticism of NATO.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Staff"},{"lastName":"Chabria","tagPage":null,"role":"Ohio Strategist ","ad":false,"labelX":"4px","_keyid":"X0sJiU3fno","labelY":"140px","fullName":"Jai Chabria","description":"Chabria oversaw Vance’s ground game in Ohio during his 2022 Senate campaign and remains one of his closest links to the state’s Republican establishment. In 2017, Chabria worked as a consultant for Vance’s short-lived non-profit, [Our Ohio Renewal](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/08/us/politics/jd-vance-ohio-senate-nonprofit.html), which hired only a handful of staffers before downsizing in 2018 and eventually going belly-up in 2021.","label":null,"labelRotation":"-26deg","group":"Political Operation"},{"lastName":"Thompson","tagPage":null,"role":"GOP Strategist ","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"JTUKzVyQmy","labelY":null,"fullName":"Luke Thompson","description":"Thompson ran Vance’s allied super PAC in 2022 and is credited with crafting the unorthodox strategy that allowed the super PAC — and its major funder, Peter Thiel — to pick up the political slack that Vance’s bare-bones campaign couldn’t sustain. As part of that strategy, Thompson set up [a secret public website](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/03/jd-vance-win-ohio-primary-00029881) containing troves of documents — including internal polling, memos and opposition research — designed to allow the super PAC to share information with the campaign without violating campaign finance law. The site was eventually discovered by Vance’s opponents, causing a major black eye for the campaign.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Political Operation"},{"lastName":"Martin","tagPage":null,"role":"Communications Director","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"Br-DXhxFlh","labelY":null,"fullName":"William Martin","description":"Martin — a native of Cincinnati — joined Vance’s 2022 campaign after working for Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and became his communications director when Vance entered office. He has since transferred over to the presidential campaign, where he will run Vance’s communications operation from Trump campaign headquarters in Florida. He is the executor of Vance’s media strategy: Stay close to friendly conservative media, tee off with adversarial cable news interviewers, and otherwise pick your spots very carefully.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Political Operation"},{"lastName":"Schroeder","tagPage":null,"role":"Deputy Communications Director","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"LOhFcUvobm","labelY":null,"fullName":"Luke Schroeder","description":"A hold-over from the 2022 Senate campaign, Schroeder was Vance’s press secretary in the Senate before moving over to the 2024 campaign. Before that, he worked as a junior staffer in the White House Communications Office under Trump. Together with Martin, Vance’s communications director, Schroeder — who is in his late 20s — epitomizes the youthful, insurgent energy of Vance’s closest staff.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Political Operation"},{"lastName":"Surabian","tagPage":null,"role":"GOP Strategist","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"q4thQimpNV","labelY":null,"fullName":"Andrew Surabian","description":"A close advisor to Donald Trump Jr., Surabian is a primary conduit between Vance’s political operation and Trump world at Mar-a-Lago. While helping to run Vance's campaign in 2022, he is [credited with orchestrating the rapprochement](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/16/donald-trump-jd-vance-relationship-00168422) between Vance and Don Jr. that ultimately led to Trump’s endorsement of Vance. Prior to that, he was a key member of Trump’s “war room” during the 2016 campaign and served as a key advisor to Steve Bannon during his stint as Trump’s chief of staff.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Political Operation"},{"lastName":"Fabrizio","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/news/tony-fabrizio","role":"GOP Pollster","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"eEpwdOBF4b","labelY":null,"fullName":"Tony Fabrizio","description":"The long-time Trump pollster worked closely with Vance’s allied super PAC during the 2022 election and remains close with his political operation. Early in the 2022 campaign, he authored [a series of memos](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/07/jd-vance-warning-ohio-senate-race-00006310) arguing that Vance’s reputation as a moderate and “anti-Trump” conservative was seriously harming his electability — and which are credited with pushing Vance to embrace Trump more publicly.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Political Operation"},{"lastName":"vanKirk","tagPage":null,"role":"National Press Secretary","ad":true,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"hEHorVA172","labelY":null,"fullName":"Taylor van Kirk","description":"An Ohio-based communications strategist, van Kirk was brought on board after Vance joined the ticket to serve as his traveling press secretary and communications aide. She works closely with William Martin, Vance’s long-time communications director, to set messaging for the campaign. Before working for Vance, she worked as the press secretary for the Ohio speaker of the House and for a crisis communications firm in Washington.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Political Operation"},{"lastName":"Thiel","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/news/peter-thiel","role":"Venture Capitalist","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"zaHlSBykqA","labelY":null,"fullName":"Peter Thiel","description":"The infamous Silicon Valley venture capitalist is many things to Vance: A mentor, a former boss, an intellectual and spiritual advisor, a friend and a major donor. The men met in 2011 while Vance was a student at Yale Law School, and Vance later worked for Thiel’s venture capital firm, Mithril Capital, before spinning off his own firm with Thiel’s backing. (Like Thiel, the name of Vance’s VC firm is a reference to [_The Lord of the Rings_](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/19/lord-of-the-rings-jd-vance-00169372).) Thiel subsequently donated $15 million to Vance’s allied super PAC during the 2022 campaign, making him the campaign’s largest backer. \n \nThiel is a significant intellectual influence on Vance as well: His embrace of Christianity played a major role in Vance’s decision to convert to Catholicism in 2019, and Thiel’s reactionary techno-libertarianism remains a touchstone of Vance’s own political outlook.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Silicon Valley Donors"},{"lastName":"Sacks","tagPage":null,"role":"Investor","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"q9_VFi7Zr1","labelY":null,"fullName":"David Sacks","description":"A core member of the “PayPal mafia,” the [conservative entrepreneur and podcaster](https://newrepublic.com/article/168125/david-sacks-elon-musk-peter-thiel) rose to prominence on the right railing against “wokeness” and criticizing neoconservative foreign policy on his popular podcast, “All In.” He hopped on the Vance train in 2022 with a $1 million dollar donation to his allied super PAC, and since then, he has become an outspoken supporter of Vance and a key financial backer for Trump. In June, Sacks held a $300,000-a-head fundraising dinner for Trump at his San Francisco mansion, which Vance attended and helped organize, and along with Thiel and Tucker Carlson, he reportedly [personally lobbied Trump](https://www.axios.com/2024/07/16/trump-vp-pick-jd-vance-rnc) to pick Vance. Vance has called him “one of my closest confidants” and helped introduce him to Donald Trump Jr.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Silicon Valley Donors"},{"lastName":"Musk","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/news/elon-musk","role":"Entreprenuer","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"XpkAshNVg8","labelY":null,"fullName":"Elon Musk","description":"Musk was a relative latecomer to Vance’s Silicon Valley fan club, but he rallied around Vance in the days before the RNC, reportedly urging Trump in private conversations to pick Vance. Since then, Vance [has praised Musk](https://x.com/ray4tesla/status/1813452740179501231) as “a throwback to an older generation of American entrepreneurs \\[who\\] builds real things.” Musk has endorsed Trump and reportedly said that he intends to donate $45 million per month to the Trump-Vance campaign until November, though he [later denied that figure](https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/elon-musk-trump-donation-45-million-pac-rcna163404).","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Silicon Valley Donors"},{"lastName":"Palihapitiya","tagPage":null,"role":"Venture Capitalist","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"5NP8VhBiMc","labelY":null,"fullName":"Chamath Palihapitiya","description":"An early Facebook executive turned venture capitalist, Palihapitiya now co-hosts a popular podcast with prominent Vance backer David Sacks and helped Sacks and Vance organize a major Silicon Valley fundraiser in June. He was part of the core Silicon Valley group that backed Vance for vice president, calling Vance “[an exceptional pick](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/17/technology/jd-vance-tech-silicon-valley.html)” after he was selected.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Silicon Valley Donors"},{"lastName":"Buskirk","tagPage":null,"role":"Entrepreneur","ad":true,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"MnJeK4Nm9G","labelY":null,"fullName":"Christopher Buskirk","description":"A self-proclaimed “serial entrepreneur” and the head of the venture capital firm “1789 Capital,” Buskirk is leading a [pro-Trump super PAC](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/us/politics/trump-super-pac-voter-turnout.html) that has committed to spending $45 million on a turnout campaign in swing states. Before Vance entered the Senate, he worked with Buskirk to set up the [Rockbridge Network](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/us/politics/republican-donors-rockbridge-network-trump.html), a network of wealthy pro-Trump donors — including Thiel — to support populist-nationalist candidates. Buskirk is also the publisher of the online conservative journal American Greatness.","label":"","labelRotation":null,"group":"Silicon Valley Donors"},{"lastName":"Hawley","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/tag/josh-hawley","role":"R-Mo.","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"qVIa-I3m12","labelY":null,"fullName":"Sen. Josh Hawley","description":"The two most prominent figureheads of “[national conservatism](https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2024/07/11/two-versions-of-the-future-are-colliding-in-d-c-00167693)” on Capitol Hill, Hawley and Vance have teamed up on legislation to [raise safety standards in the rail industry](https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-vance-brown-and-colleagues-introduce-bipartisan-bill-improve-rail-safety/) and change the way the Department of Defense [accounts for the cost of U.S. support for Ukraine](https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senators-vance-hawley-introduce-legislation-to-prevent-further-accounting-errors-at-the-department-of-defense/). In May 2024 they co-authored a letter with Sen. Marco Rubio urging the Biden administration to [block the acquisition of a major American steel manufacturer](https://www.hawley.senate.gov/senators-hawley-vance-and-rubio-urge-biden-block-us-steel-sale-foreign-company/) by a Japanese company.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Capitol Hill Allies"},{"lastName":"Lee","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/news/mike-lee","role":"R-Utah","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"YC48Fzyun4","labelY":null,"fullName":"Sen. Mike Lee","description":"Lee was the [first person to publicly announce Vance](https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/07/15/rnc-live-updates-coverage/mike-lee-announces-vp-00168368) — whom he considers a close friend — as Trump’s vice-presidential pick at the Republican National Convention. On Capitol Hill, Vance and Lee [spearheaded a Senate hold](https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/06-13-2023/vance-holds-doj-noms/) on all of the Biden administration’s nominees to the Department of Justice to protest the DOJ's role in the indictments of former President Donald Trump. The duo denounced the indictments as “[radical lawfare](https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senate-conservatives-announce-sweeping-hold-policy-on-biden-lawfare-nominees/)” and “sham proceedings” against Trump.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Capitol Hill Allies"},{"lastName":"Cotton","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/news/tom-cotton","role":"R-Ark.","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"ywFnyxMULd","labelY":null,"fullName":"Sen. Tom Cotton","description":"Cotton has teamed up with Vance on two notable pieces of legislation in the Senate: One bill, co-sponsored by Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly, to [boost the number of “shovel-ready” manufacturing sites](https://www.axios.com/2023/06/08/kelly-vance-cotton-senate-manufacturing-legislation), and another, introduced in June 2024, to amend the rules surrounding birthright citizenship to [exclude the children of undocumented immigrants](https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-amend-birthright-citizenship). They have diverged sharpy on foreign policy, however, with Cotton supporting U.S. aid to Ukraine and Vance opposing it.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Capitol Hill Allies"},{"lastName":"Rubio","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/news/marco-rubio","role":"R-Fla.","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"oau4Ec7ba3","labelY":null,"fullName":"Sen. Marco Rubio","description":"Before he was a competitor for Trump’s vice-presidential slot, Rubio worked with Vance on [a bill to allow workers to bypass unions](https://www.rubio.senate.gov/rubio-vance-reintroduce-bill-to-empower-worker-voice/) when negotiating with their employers. The bill — which was seen as the conservative response to [the PRO Act](https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-shift/2022/08/15/unions-post-reconciliation-pro-act-push-00051726) — failed to garner support among Republicans.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Capitol Hill Allies"},{"lastName":"Banks","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/tag/jim-banks","role":"R-Ind.","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"wDiQuEFTXb","labelY":null,"fullName":"Rep. Jim Banks","description":"The Indiana Republican joined forces with Vance on a slew of higher-education related legislation: a [bill to prevent American universities](https://www.vance.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Bill-Text_College-Employment-Accountability-Act.pdf) from hiring undocumented immigrants, one to [ban affirmative action in college admissions](https://www.vance.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Vance-College-Admissions-Accountability-Act-of-2023.pdf) and another to require universities [to disclose gifts or contracts with foreign adversaries](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4145) like China or Iran. Like Vance, he has opposed U.S. aid to Ukraine and [credits his military service](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/04/republican-veterans-anti-interventionists-00164026) with pushing him to embrace a more non-interventionist foreign policy.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Capitol Hill Allies"},{"lastName":"Roy","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/tag/chip-roy","role":"R-Texas","ad":true,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"vyIftUBXbH","labelY":null,"fullName":"Rep. Chip Roy","description":"The Texas Republican has become one of Vance’s most vocal anti-Ukraine allies in the House, co-authoring a series of bicameral letters [opposing additional U.S. aid](https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-vance-colleagues-reject-indefinite-war-in-ukraine/) to Ukraine and requesting more information [from the White House](https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-vance-reps-chip-roy-matt-gaetz-request-clarification-from-biden-national-security-advisor-on-ukraine-spending/) and [the Department of Defense](https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-vance-reps-chip-roy-matt-gaetz-demand-biden-administration-clarify-military-adviser-policy-in-ukraine/) about the details of U.S. aid.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"Capitol Hill Allies"},{"lastName":"Deneen","tagPage":null,"role":"Philosopher","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"gY6ByIErI1","labelY":null,"fullName":"Patrick Deneen","description":"A professor of political theory at the University of Notre Dame, Deneen is the [most prominent academic proponent of “postliberalism,”](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/06/08/the-new-right-patrick-deneen-00100279) a political philosophy that eschews small-L liberalism’s focus on the protection of individuals’ rights and liberties in favor promoting a “postliberal” order grounded in the promotion of conservative and religious values. Vance has cited Deneen as a major intellectual influence and appeared at events with him, in addition to [identifying himself a member](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFJO3XhorjI) of the “postliberal right.”","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"The New Right Thinkers"},{"lastName":"Ahmari","tagPage":null,"role":"Writer","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"Dv1P2pfe6Q","labelY":null,"fullName":"Sohrab Ahmari","description":"Ahmari has promoted a version of “[pro-worker conservatism](https://www.compactmag.com/article/how-the-gop-can-mend-fences-with-unions/)” and “[new centrism](https://compactmag.substack.com/p/the-new-center-is-here)” from his post as the co-editor of _Compact Magazine_, an online journal that’s popular on the populist right. Though he has [recently grown more skeptical](https://www.newsweek.com/i-was-wrong-gop-will-never-party-working-class-opinion-1819644) of the Republican Party’s appetite for a genuinely populist political program, he remains close with Vance, having [profiled him](https://www.newstatesman.com/ns-interview/2024/07/hillbilly-energy) for several publications and hosted him at a [buzzy conference for “Common Good” conservatives](https://www.ncronline.org/news/new-right-academics-argue-biblical-lawmaking-steubenville-conference) in 2022.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"The New Right Thinkers"},{"lastName":"Hazony","tagPage":null,"role":"Philosopher","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"-Bbf-Uirf8","labelY":null,"fullName":"Yoram Hazony","description":"Hazony, an Israeli-born philosopher and former aide to Benjamin Netenyahu, is the intellectual godfather of the “national conservatism” movement, which formed during the Trump era as a big-tent intellectual movement for the populist-nationalist right. His 2018 book [_The Virtue of Nationalism_](https://nationalconservatism.org/publications/the-virtue-of-nationalism/) is a key text of the nationalist right. Vance has been a regular speaker and attendee at the annual NatCon conference since 2019 and [has acknowledged Hazony’s influence](https://jewishinsider.com/2021/09/jd-vance-ohio-senate-race/) on his thinking about nationalism and public religion.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"The New Right Thinkers"},{"lastName":"Yarvin","tagPage":null,"role":"Blogger/philosopher","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"eevbh6MFXf","labelY":null,"fullName":"Curtis Yarvin","description":"Yarvin is a self-identified monarchist writer and the intellectual leader of the “neo-reactionary” or “NRx” movement, premised on the conviction that American democracy has degenerated into a corrupt oligarchy that will eventually give way to a monarchical “national CEO” or dictator. While blogging under the pseudonym “Mencius Moldbug,” Yarvin [dabbled in race science](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23373795/curtis-yarvin-neoreaction-redpill-moldbug), though he has [disavowed white nationalism](https://www.unqualified-reservations.org/2007/11/why-i-am-not-white-nationalist/). Vance [has called Yarvin a friend](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets) and [cited his work in interviews](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMq1ZEcyztY).","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"The New Right Thinkers"},{"lastName":"Dreher","tagPage":null,"role":"Writer/Philosopher","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"UnB9ryaFBn","labelY":null,"fullName":"Rod Dreher","description":"Dreher is an orthodox Christian writer who rose to prominence as the leader of the “crunchy cons,” or conservatives who embrace the countercultural, back-to-the-land attitudes typically associated with the hippie left. More recently, he has encouraged Christian conservatives to embrace “[the Benedict Option](https://www.amazon.com/Benedict-Option-Strategy-Christians-Post-Christian/dp/0735213291)” of withdrawing from mainstream secular society to build self-sustaining communities dedicated to cultivating Christian virtue. (He has moved to Hungary and become a supporter of [Viktor Orbán’s government](https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/what-rod-dreher-sees-in-viktor-orban).) He was among the first conservative intellectuals to embrace Vance after the publication of _Hillbilly Elegy_ in 2016 and remains friends with him today, even attending Vance’s baptism into the Catholic Church in 2019.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"The New Right Thinkers"},{"lastName":"Cass","tagPage":null,"role":"Economist","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"_OwqBfSu4m","labelY":null,"fullName":"Oren Cass","description":"Cass was an economic policy advisor to Mitt Romney in 2012 before breaking with the GOP’s long-standing consensus on free market fundamentalism to become a leading apostle of the “new conservative economics,” grounded in economic nationalism, protectionism and a nominally “pro-worker” agenda. Vance [appears regularly at his think-tank](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8I2YcSgo8c), American Compass, and has cited Cass’s work as a primary influence on his economic thinking.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"The New Right Thinkers"},{"lastName":"Colby","tagPage":null,"role":"Foreign Policy Expert","ad":true,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"toC4ate9hX","labelY":null,"fullName":"Elbridge Colby","description":"A veteran of Trump’s Department of Defense, Colby has become the [New Right’s go-to foreign policy expert](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/11/tucker-carlson-eldridge-colby-00090211). He describes his own foreign policy position as one of “prioritization,” arguing that the U.S. needs to limit its involvement abroad so it can focus on the unique threat of an ascendent China. Vance has proven to be even more avidly anti-interventionist and skeptical of multilateral institutions like NATO than Colby, but he has [cited Colby as an influence](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXH1p8_jhc8), and [his public remarks on foreign policy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3zhUyDzejg) bear the imprint of Colby’s thinking on prioritization.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"The New Right Thinkers"},{"lastName":"Roberts","tagPage":null,"role":"President of the Heritage Foundation ","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"kYljiuSor0","labelY":null,"fullName":"Kevin Roberts","description":"The leader of the organization behind [the now-infamous Project 2025](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/08/02/project-2025-trump-inside-story-00172299), Roberts is a long-time Vance ally in Washington, [having called him](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/15/mr-maga-goes-to-washington-00147054) “one of the leaders — if not the leader — of our movement.” The two men have [appeared together at public events](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZbsiKEhy-8) and [co-authored op-eds](https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4260843-dont-hold-up-israel-aid-to-further-ukraine-war-funding/) about foreign policy, and Vance even [wrote the foreword to Roberts’ forthcoming book](https://x.com/JDVance1/status/1803537040555876682).","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"The MAGA Allies"},{"lastName":"Vought","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/tag/russell-vought","role":"Former Trump OMB Director","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"YI6FQcGLEr","labelY":null,"fullName":"Russell Vought","description":"Vought — the former director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Trump administration and a contender for Trump’s next chief of staff — is a staunch social conservative and a hard-line budget hawk whose organization, the Center for Renewing America, serves as a behind-the-scenes brain trust for the most conservative members of Congress. In January, Vought told _POLITICO Magazine_ that he is in “regular contact” with Vance’s Hill office and that “we probably have one of the closest relationships with \\[Vance’s\\] office that we do with any Hill office.”","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"The MAGA Allies"},{"lastName":"Carlson","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/news/tucker-carlson","role":"Media Personality","ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"8wWsGhTuF1","labelY":null,"fullName":"Tucker Carlson","description":"The former Fox News superstar used his prime-time show to promote Vance’s Senate candidacy in 2022 and has remained one of his most ardent public supporters. Vance is a regular guest on Carlson’s new platform, where the two men have joined forces to [oppose additional U.S. aid to Ukraine](https://tuckercarlson.com/uncensored-jd-vance-ukraine), and Carlson reportedly [personally lobbied Trump](https://www.axios.com/2024/07/16/trump-vp-pick-jd-vance-rnc) to pick Vance as his vice presidential candidate in the days leading up to the Republican National Convention. “He’s by far the smartest and the deepest \\[senator\\] I’ve ever met,” Carlson [told _POLITICO Magazine_](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/15/mr-maga-goes-to-washington-00147054) in January.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"The MAGA Allies"},{"lastName":"Bannon","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/news/stephen-bannon","role":"MAGA Impresario","ad":true,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"ym-TiJ1A89","labelY":null,"fullName":"Steve Bannon","description":"The former Trump strategist is another of Vance’s key allies in the conservative media ecosphere, frequently [hosting Vance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJF2v8sH0hs) [on his show](https://www.facebook.com/100070055152736/videos/watch-jd-vances-interview-with-steve-bannon-and-jack-posobiec-if-joe-biden-only-/237887618259912/), _War Room_, and promoting him to his sizable social media following. In an [interview with _POLITICO Magazine_](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/15/mr-maga-goes-to-washington-00147054) in January, Bannon suggested that Vance could become the “St. Paul” to Trump’s Jesus — the convert who spreads the gospel of Trumpism to the world. “You know, Jesus played the small rooms until St. Paul came around,” Bannon said. “It took the zeal of St. Paul to turn Jesus into a headliner.”","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"The MAGA Allies"},{"lastName":"Trump","tagPage":"https://www.politico.com/news/donald-trump-jr","role":null,"ad":false,"labelX":null,"_keyid":"deWgWfsXM5","labelY":null,"fullName":"Donald Trump Jr.","description":"Don Jr. met Vance during his 2022 Senate race and the two men became close friends, with Don Jr. helping broker the rapprochement between Vance and his father that eventually led to Trump’s endorsement. Since then, the two remain “[regular texting buddies](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/15/mr-maga-goes-to-washington-00147054),” with Vance [frequently appearing on Don Jr.’ podcast](https://rumble.com/v58f8q3-jd-vance-live-from-mar-a-lago-triggered-ep.159.html?playlist_id=Mv8KkinDeIg) and Don Jr. serving as one of Vance’s main advocates at Mar-a-Lago. Their friendship paid off during the Republican vice presidential sweepstakes, when Don Jr. publicly and privately advocated for his father to pick Vance, whom he saw as the best candidate to carry forth his father’s legacy.","label":null,"labelRotation":null,"group":"The MAGA Allies"}],"top":{"layout":"grouped","eyebrowUrl":"https://www.politico.com/tag/the-friday-read","_keyid":"N-PgpTF-8s","intro":"What happens when [Middletown](https://www.npr.org/2024/07/18/g-s1-11981/jd-vance-middletown-ohio-reaction) meets Mar-a-Lago? With JD Vance now on the Republican ticket — and his political operation migrating from Ohio to southern Florida — we’re about to find out. \n\n \n\nDuring his brief tenure in national politics, the _Hillbilly Elegy_ author has [built an inner circle that reflects his own identity](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/15/mr-maga-goes-to-washington-00147054): young, grounded in the “New Right” of the Republican Party, skeptical of mainstream conservative institutions and ideas, and unafraid to play the part of the political pugilist when it serves their interests. Like the 40-year-old Vance, many of his closest advisers scarcely knew the pre-Trump Republican Party — and if they did know the old GOP, they much prefer the new one. \n\n \n\nVance’s inner circle already bears the imprint of Trump’s influence, with a handful of advisers and staffers who have one foot in Vance’s camp and one foot in Trump world. But unlike Trump, Vance is [deeply plugged into the New Right intellectual circles](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/18/jd-vance-world-view-sources-00168984) that have been driving the political debate within the conservative movement since 2016, and he looks to a core group of these writers, academics and right-leaning policy wonks for informal counsel and advice. Thanks to his days as a venture capitalist, he is also closely tied to the right-most flank of Silicon Valley and its [techno-libertarian ideologies](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/09/20/peter-thiel-book-facebook-trump-jd-vance-blake-masters-josh-hawley-513121) — some of which have been [branded as “weird”](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/26/trump-vance-weird-00171470) by his new opponent, Democratic vice presidential pick Tim Walz. \n\n \nFor that reason, Vance’s network — or at least [his Venmo contacts](https://www.wired.com/story/jd-vance-venmo/) — looks a bit different than your average politician’s. Here’s our breakdown of the people who guide Vance’s political operation and shape his thinking, based on original reporting and interviews with people who know and have worked with Vance.","dek":"Silicon Valley donors, MAGA allies, and political operatives: The networks behind Trump’s VP pick.","correction":"An earlier version of this article misstated Andrew Surabian's role in JD Vance's 2022 Senate campaign.","headline":"We Mapped JD Vance’s Inner Circle","eyebrowText":"THE FRIDAY READ"},"groups":[{"name":"Staff","ad":true,"labelX":"24px","labelRotation":"-20deg","_keyid":"ccMZfw-e29","labelY":"18px"},{"name":"Political Operation","ad":true,"labelX":"100px","labelRotation":"-4deg","_keyid":"WqW_rVCEHK","labelY":"-8px"},{"name":"Silicon Valley Donors","ad":true,"labelX":"80px","labelRotation":"-12deg","_keyid":"mDiNT3zr5U","labelY":"2px"},{"name":"Capitol Hill Allies","ad":true,"labelX":"80px","labelRotation":"-10deg","_keyid":"iNlMkYgK2j","labelY":"0px"},{"name":"The New Right Thinkers","ad":true,"labelX":"84px","labelRotation":"-4deg","_keyid":"T_Eqobmw3V","labelY":"-3px"},{"name":"The MAGA Allies","ad":true,"labelX":"50px","labelRotation":"-13deg","_keyid":"rU8afRhkda","labelY":"8px"}],"__meta":{"lastUpdated":"2024-08-09T16:19:14.192Z"}},"refreshRate":null,"lastModified":"Fri, 09 Aug 2024 16:19:15 GMT"}],"meta":{"page":"root"}},"__N_SSG":true},"page":"/","query":{},"buildId":"7-qnWn1_hdE8oPYEEJSXZ","assetPrefix":"/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide","runtimeConfig":{"buildTime":"2024-08-09T16:20:01.191Z","appRoot":"/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/","development":false,"staging":false,"production":true,"ads":true,"ignoreDataModifiedTimes":false},"isFallback":false,"gsp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}</script></body></html>