Vice President of the United States JD Vance shared a personal story about his family’s first reaction upon learning that his future wife, Usha Vance, was of Indian descent.Vance recalled on British entrepreneur Steven Bartlett’s CEO Diary podcast that his mother asked a surprising question after learning about Usha’s Indian ancestry: “Which tribe?”Vance said this was just a cultural misunderstanding and not malicious.Usha Vance, formerly known as Usha Bala Chilukuri, is the daughter of Indian immigrants who immigrated to the United States from Andhra Pradesh, southern India. Her family has deep roots in the Telugu community and includes several academics and educationists. Born and raised in California, she graduated from Yale University and Yale Law School.She met JD Vance at Yale Law School. The two married in 2014 in an interfaith ceremony that blended Christian and Hindu traditions. Today, they have three children and are one of the biggest political couples in the country.Over the years, Vance often spoke of the positive influence Usha and her family had on him. In his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” he described being struck by the warmth of Indian family life, which he said was very different from what he experienced growing up in Ohio and Kentucky. He wrote that Usha’s family showed him a different model of family relationships and support.Usha has built a career of achievement. Before becoming second lady, she worked as an attorney and clerked for several senior judges, including Chief Justice John Roberts and then-federal Judge Brett Kavanaugh. She later worked at the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson before exiting private practice as her husband’s political status increased. Usha became the first Indian second lady of the United States and the first Hindu spouse of a US vice president.However, many MAGA nationalists and white supremacists believe that Brown, a Hindu and an Indian second lady hinders Vance’s chances of becoming the next President of the United States in 2028.
