Senator JD Vance has humorously suggested that his wife, Usha Vance, should be appointed the next director of the federal budget, following her response to criticism over the price of a maternity dress. The comment came after The New York Times published an article examining the political messaging around prominent pregnant women in the Trump administration, specifically referencing a Father's Day video featuring the couple.
Usha Vance, who is expecting the couple's fourth child, addressed the scrutiny by sharing a screenshot showing the maternity dress, originally priced at $49.99, was purchased for $8.75 after discounts. Her husband then responded on X (formerly Twitter), stating, "She bought a $50 dress for $8.75. America: meet your next director of the federal budget!" He also retweeted his wife's critique of the newspaper.
"Now that we know the political significance of my $8.75 coral maternity dress from Old Navy, can't wait to hear what the New York Times has to say about my elastic-waistband pants and compression socks!" Usha Vance wrote on X.
The New York Times piece, authored by fashion critic Vanessa Friedman, was titled "The Politics and Power of the Pregnancy Image." It analyzed the public pregnancies of Usha Vance, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Katie Miller, wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Friedman suggested that while the timing of their pregnancies was coincidental, it contributed to a consistent public image of the administration's focus on family and fertility.
Friedman noted that Usha Vance's pregnancy, highlighted in the Father's Day video where she discusses the couple's growing family with JD Vance, presented a more personal aspect of the vice president. "As second lady, her job is also to represent and humanize the vice president," Friedman wrote. "By spotlighting her pregnancy, she is doing exactly that."
JD Vance's public profile has recently included discussions of his religious journey, detailed in his new book "Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith," published by Harper. This memoir follows his 2016 best-selling book "Hillbilly Elegy" and comes after his tenure as a U.S. Senator from Ohio and his current role as Vice President.