Mother's Day 2026 was particularly special for MAGA Republicans, as three prominent women from the Trump administration are either pregnant or have recently given birth. Karoline Leavitt announced the birth of her daughter Viviana on May 1, while Katie Miller and Usha Vance are expecting their fourth child.
On this occasion, U.S. Vice President JD Vance took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate his wife and share an exclusive excerpt from his upcoming book, revealing how he became 'obsessed' with Usha. 'This is a particularly special Mother's Day in the Vance clan, as Usha is about to become a mom for the fourth time. We thought it would be fun to put out a little excerpt from my new book about the early days of our relationship. To all the moms out there, but especially to Usha: Happy Mother's Day!' he wrote.
JD Vance's New Book
The American Vice President is set to publish his second memoir, titled Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith. His first book, Hillbilly Elegy (2016), detailed his childhood marred by abuse, alcoholism, and poverty. In contrast, Communion focuses on his journey of rediscovering religion. Vance reflects on his conversion to Catholicism after a Protestant upbringing and a period of atheism. 'A critical part of that journey was falling in love with a girl who would eventually become a mother four times over,' Vance told USA TODAY in a statement.
When Love Was Yet to Arrive
In the excerpt, Vance recounts a conversation with his best friend Mike, who was going through a breakup before law school. 'All the standard clichés applied as I did my best to soothe my buddy with a combination of good conversation and copious amounts of Natural Light,' he wrote. Vance observed that during the relationship, Mike had acknowledged his girlfriend was jealous and demanding, but in heartache, he described her as perfect. Vance realized he had never experienced such heartache in his own dating life.
Vance's Mary: 'I'd Get Over It Quickly'
Vance shared a story about dating a woman named Mary during and after college. 'She was sweet, and she wanted the same things out of life that I did: a nice house, a decent job, and a couple of kids. My family got along with her fine. No relationship is perfect, but nothing seemed like a deal breaker,' he wrote. However, he felt he would 'get over it quickly' if she dumped him. He told Mike he might lack the 'gene or something' for love. 'I've just never fallen head over heels for a girl. Some are better and some are worse. I could rate Mary on all these objective criteria, and she's mostly great. But would I sob if she broke up with me? No way. Isn't that a problem?' he asked, concluding he might be 'just not that emotional.'
Vance's Usha: 'I'm Obsessed'
Months later, while in a long-distance relationship with Mary during his first year at Yale Law School, Vance found himself thinking about another student: Usha Bala Chilukuri. On a late-night walk in the rain, he called Mike and said, 'Dude, I think I'm obsessed with this chick in my small group. It's unhealthy.' The small group consisted of sixteen students sharing all first-year classes. 'I told him all about her: That she was smarter than everyone. That her smile could light up a room. That she had the most amazing posture,' he wrote. 'She doesn't even walk like normal people. Normal girls seem kind of unstable in high heels. Not her. She glides across the room in whatever shoes she wears. And her laugh, man. Whenever she laughs it's, like, the most wonderful thing. She's super reserved, but she has this chortle that is the best sound I've ever heard.' Mike reminded Vance that he did have the gene to fall head over heels.
What Vance Saw in Usha
Vance noted that as the second couple, they have been analyzed extensively. He recalled a classmate's comment that he was attracted to Usha's ambitions, which they both found amusing. He highlighted three unusual traits: she was intensely competitive, incapable of jealousy, and uninterested in traditional markers of success. Her dream job was to run Sesame Workshop, as she loved children and educational programming. 'You have the biggest mismatch between ambition and ability of any person I've ever met. You could be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and you have no interest in it,' he told her.
Vance wrote that he was drawn to Usha like never before and broke up with Mary, unable to imagine settling for anyone else. 'I will marry this girl,' he told his friends. 'Or I will be a lifelong bachelor.' He admitted to being a 'lousy boyfriend' and said he didn't deserve Usha, but 'still she stuck around.'
