--- description: Find out why J.D. Vance is one of the 100 most influential people of 2025. title: J.D. Vance: The 100 Most Influential People of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt692d1474ebb36a5d/6998c5c0c8dcb44582b50092/time100-2025-jd-vance.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 16, 2025 # J.D. Vance by [Massimo Calabresi](/author/massimo-calabresi/) ## Massimo Calabresi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Calabresi is TIME’s Washington bureau chief.  GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN - JULY 20: Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) speaks during a campaign rally at the Van Andel Arena on July 20, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Trump's campaign event is the first joint event with his recent vice presidential pick Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) and the first campaign rally since the attempted assassination attempt his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN - JULY 20: Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) speaks during a campaign rally at the Van Andel Arena on July 20, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Trump's campaign event is the first joint event with his recent vice presidential pick Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) and the first campaign rally since the attempted assassination attempt his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)Anna Moneymaker—Getty Images Normally, Vice Presidents fade into obscurity after taking office. Not so for [J.D. Vance](https://time.com/7024414/jd-vance-2024-interview/ "undefined"), whose profile and remit have grown since he and Donald Trump won last November’s election. Vance was central to overcoming resistance among GOP Senators to some of Trump’s controversial Cabinet picks and has taken a leading and contentious role on foreign affairs, including in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. He’s also become one of Trump’s most prolific attack dogs on social media. Along the way, he’s built an expanding list of pivotal supporters like Donald Trump Jr. and Tucker Carlson, fueling talk of a 2028 run for the White House. Such talk is premature for Vance, 40, who had served less than two years in the Senate when Trump tapped him to be his running mate and remains broadly unpopular outside the Republican Party. But he has political know-how and a compelling story. From a broken home, he came up through the U.S. Marines, Yale Law School, and the tech-bro world of Silicon Valley. Now, as Trump’s No. 2, he’s turned what was a political death sentence for his predecessor, Mike Pence, into a position of power, and potential. _Calabresi is TIME’s Washington bureau chief_ J.D. Vance Is on the 2025 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273798/jd-vance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273798/jd-vance/"},"headline":"J.D. Vance","datePublished":"2025-04-16T10:30:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T02:29:07.561Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273798/jd-vance/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","T100Leaders2025"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt692d1474ebb36a5d/6998c5c0c8dcb44582b50092/time100-2025-jd-vance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Massimo Calabresi","jobTitle":"Calabresi is TIME’s Washington bureau chief.","url":"https://time.com/author/massimo-calabresi/"}],"creator":"Massimo Calabresi","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt692d1474ebb36a5d/6998c5c0c8dcb44582b50092/time100-2025-jd-vance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273798/jd-vance/","name":"J.D. Vance"}}]}] ```