A lot of couples don’t stick to a predetermined plan for having children.
J.D. and Usha Vance have different ways of telling how they decided on a fourth baby. The vice president’s story, as he tells it at rallies, has a mischievous tone—as if he’s a man who is getting away with something. He and Usha originally made a deal. He had to choose one big thing for their family: a baby or the vice presidency.
Leah Libresco Sargeant is a contributing writer at The Dispatch, and the author of ‘Building the Benedict Option’ and the Other Feminisms Substack. Her latest book, ‘The Dignity of Dependence,’ was published October 2025 by University of Notre Dame Press.
