Usha Vance said she’s trying to keep a normal daily life for herself and her family, including having a membership at Costco.
“We have our neighborhood shops. We have our Costco membership,” she told NBC News about living in the Naval Observatory, the official residence of the vice president in Washington, DC.
The second lady said she takes their three children to Costco — a warehouse-style store — to buy items for their school lunches and snacks.
“We have all our favorite things that we get,” she said. “They pick their lunchbox items from there. It’s just sort of a family tradition. It’s the kind of stuff that you don’t want to let go when you have a family life and you move into something like the Naval Observatory.”
Vance, who is pregnant with a fourth child, gave the interview to coincide with her new podcast.
She described herself as a trusted adviser to her husband, especially when he’s working on issues that are “important personally.”
“There are conversations all the time,” Vance said.
JD Vance is widely expected to run for president in 2028, but his wife brushed off questions about their future plans, saying they are focused on the upcoming midterm elections and their growing family.
“JD is very focused on the midterm elections right now, on all the things that are happening right this moment, which are obviously exceedingly important. And so if you come back in 2027 and ask me, I’ll have a better sense of, you know, what he’s thinking in that way. But that’s not the priority in our conversations,” she told NBC News.
Vance left her job as a trial lawyer when President Trump won the 2024 election. One of her first moves was to ask if the Naval Observatory was child proofed. The couple’s three children are all under the age of 10.
She has projected an everywoman image as her family enters the spotlight. She’s been spotted around Washington, running errands, grabbing coffee, and wearing casual clothes.
Vance also used her platform as second lady to encourage Americans to read more, at a time when the literacy rate is declining.
She launched her new podcast on Monday, dropping three episodes of story time for children with a series of special guests.
“I’ve always loved reading a story – from when I was a kid until today, and now as a mom, story time with my kid is a highlight of my day,” she said in the first episode.
The second lady read from Peter Rabbit in that episode. In others, she hosted friends to read, including racing legend Danica Patrick in the second episode and Paralympian and author Brent Poppen in the third.
“Story Time with the Second Lady” will release new episodes every few weeks. Books take us on “so many adventures” and help “learn new things,” Vance noted.
She told viewers to check back for future guest stars and teased an appearance from the family’s dog, Atlas.