WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Vice President and his wife, second lady , on Sunday announced the birth of their fourth child, the first born to a sitting vice president in more than 150 years.
Born Sunday, Alec Neel Vance joins older siblings Ewan, 9; Vivek, 6; and Mirabel, 4.
Vance announced the birth on social media with a statement signed by him and his wife.
鈥淲e are excited to announce that our baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning. Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother,鈥� the statement said.
They thanked doctors and staff at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and with the White House medical team.
The Republican vice president鈥檚 growing family is in keeping with his passionate advocacy for Americans to . He has also suggested that the 2025 killing of conservative activist , who was his friend, factored into the decision to have another child.
Vance, a former U.S. Marine, repeatedly expressed alarm about as he launched his political career in 2021 with a bid for a U.S. Senate seat from Ohio. As vice president, he said in Washington at the 2025 March for Life anti-abortion rally, 鈥淚 want more babies in the United States of America.鈥�
The vice president, who鈥檚 41, has been accompanied on overseas trips by Usha Vance, 40, and their children, with the kids often pajama-clad as they board Air Force Two for the overnight flights.
Usha Vance, the daughter of immigrants from India, had already been the subject of some public fascination because of her husband. Her pregnancy, which was , amplified that spotlight since it is rare for occupants of the United States鈥� highest public offices to add to their families while serving.
The last time a sitting vice president became a new father was in the 1800s.
Schuyler Colfax and his second wife, Ellen Wade, had a son, Schuyler Colfax III, in 1870 when Colfax was serving as vice president, according to the White House Historical Association. Decades before that, John C. Calhoun and his wife, Floride Bonneau, had a son, William, in 1829 when Calhoun was vice president, the association said.
The newest addition to Vance鈥檚 family was part of a recent mini baby boom among top members of President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller鈥檚 wife, Katie Miller, recently gave birth to the couple鈥檚 fourth child, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had her second child with her husband, Nicholas Riccio, in May.
Usha Vance recently came under scrutiny after The New York Times鈥� fashion critic called attention to the stomach-hugging, coral maternity dress she wore for a Father鈥檚 Day episode of 鈥淪torytime with the Second Lady,鈥� a video podcast she launched during the pregnancy.
The Times wrote that the attention that Vance, Miller and Leavitt had put on their pregnancies offered 鈥渁n image of idealized womanhood that gives literal shape to the pronatalist movement,鈥� which encourages couples to have as many children as possible to counter declining birth rates.
The second lady responded on social media, writing, 鈥淣ow that we know the political significance of my $8.75 coral maternity dress from Old Navy, can鈥檛 wait to hear what the New York Times has to say about my elastic-waistband pants and compression socks! In the meantime, enjoy my pregnancy fashion (or lack thereof) and a good story with your kids on Storytime with the Second Lady.鈥� She later shared the receipt for the dress, and her husband applauded her frugality.
鈥淪he bought a $50 dress for $8.75. America: meet your next director of the federal budget!鈥� the vice president wrote on social media.
JD Vance has said it was Kirk鈥檚 widow, Erika Kirk, telling them that she wished she鈥檇 had more than two children with her husband before he was assassinated last September in Utah that led him and the second lady to decide to grow their family. Usha Vance, a former attorney who once clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, concurred 鈥� in part.
鈥淚t was very powerful, what (Erika) said about her own family, and certainly very moving to both of us. I think I had already started to open my mind to the possibility,鈥� Usha Vance said during a joint interview with her husband for 鈥淐BS Sunday Morning鈥� that aired in June. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 say that this was, for me in any way, the decisive factor. But it came in the middle of a conversation that we were already having.鈥�
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