Less than one week after officially resigning from his U.S. Senate seat, rumors of soon-to-be Vice President JD Vance making another surprise move are swirling.
Some insiders now speculating the former Ohio Senator could skip President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
While the news may come a shock, Vance’s camp floated this as a realistic possibility back in August.
Here’s what’s unfolding, and the very latest.
Vance, a vocal and proud alumni of Ohio State University, said back in August that the Buckeyes college football team might be “the best” he’s seen in his lifetime.
After easily beating Texas in the national semifinal game, Ohio State will take on Notre Dame in the national championship game on January 20 — the same day as the inauguration.
And Vance reportedly really wants to be there to see it in person — so much that he’s joking about skipping his and Trump’s swearing-in ceremony.
Hopefully everyone is cool with me skipping the inauguration so I can go to the national title game
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 11, 2025
“Hopefully everyone is cool with me skipping the inauguration so I can go to the national title game,” Vance joked in a post on social media.
Vance then posted a meme in response to his own post on X with his two options: “Attend your own inauguration” or “Go watch the Buckeyes win a national title.”
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 11, 2025
Asked by Fox News’s Shannon Bream if there’s “some kind of executive power to move the game,” Vance replied with a grin, “Trust me, I’ve asked. Apparently not.”
But he then made an appeal: “If you’re watching this show and you have the power [to move the game], I’d really like to watch the Buckeyes.”
“I don’t want to be at the inaugural ball, like, staring at my phone because we’re watching Ohio State versus Notre Dame. So let’s move that game,” he said.
“But if not, I’ll be rooting for the Buckeyes in spirit.”
So while Vance says he will not miss the inauguration, there’s no doubt he will be rooting for his Buckeyes in Washington as Trump is sworn into a second term in the White House.
“I assure you, that was a joke. I will be there doing my constitutional duty and swearing in as the 50th vice president of the United States,” Vance said Sunday.
In final preparation for becoming Vice President, Vance resigned his Senate seat last Thursday, submitting his official letter of resignation to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
“I hereby resign my office as a United States Senator from the State of Ohio, effective January 10, 2025,” Vance wrote in his resignation letter.
“As I prepare to assume my duties as Vice President of the United States, I would like to express that it has been a tremendous honor and privilege to serve the people of Ohio.”
Vance, who won his Senate seat in 2022 by defeating Democrat Tim Ryan, departs the chamber after casting a final vote to break the filibuster on the “Laken Riley Act,” which would require federal officials to arrest and deport all illegal immigrants charged with crimes.