When the Vance family enters the residence of the Vice President of the National Naval Observatory, the historic halls will be filled with the screams of small children and the joyful chaos that surrounds a young family.
At 40, Vance will be the youngest vice president since 40-year-old Richard Nixon came to power in 1953.
Vance and his wife Usha, who also turned 40 on January 6, have two sons – Ewan, 7, and Vivek, 4, and a daughter Mirabel who just turned 3.
No young children have lived in the vice president's home since Al and Tipper Gore and their four children moved into the house in 1993, even though the Bidens regularly hosted his grandchildren in the building and Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed her young nieces for visits.
The children have access to a large house with 33 rooms, a wrap-around veranda, grand staircases and elegant turrets.
After the inauguration, the Vance family will move into a home they have never visited before and only seen in photos.
This week it was reported that Kamala and Doug had turned away the young Vance family by refusing to offer them a tour of the property prior to the inauguration, as is a friendly tradition.
It's a sudden transition for a family moving into a 9,000-square-foot Queen Anne-style home, usually eased by a cordial tour of the property by outgoing vice presidents.
Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife Lynn welcomed new Vice President Joe Biden in 2009 and the Bidens extended the same courtesy to the Pence family in 2016.
JD Vance and his wife Usha, and his three children, Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel
The official residence of the Vice President of the United States on the grounds of the US Naval Observatory in Washington
The Pences were unable to host Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff at the residence, as was the case during the coronavirus pandemic and the politically tumultuous environment surrounding the disputed 2020 election. Vice President Harris appears unwilling to honor the fallen tradition to restore.
As a United States Marine, Vance will live on a property steeped in maritime history, as the U.S. Navy-owned home was once a pristine residence for Navy admirals.
The secluded home sits on 13 acres, giving the Vance family plenty of privacy and space for the three children to explore.
“They're going to have problems if they have very young children, but I think the observatory is such a beautiful, private place,” Kate Andersen Brower, author of the book First In Line, Presidents Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power, told DailyMail. com.
Modern vice presidents have put their own stamp on the property, when Dan Quayle installed a putting green and large heated swimming pool on the property.
Vice President George HW Bush built a horseshoe pit and jogging track. Biden installed a tree swing and the Pences added a basketball court and a beehive.
Vice President-elect JD Vance, left, and his wife Usha Vance arrive at a dinner at the National Gallery of Art
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, his wife Usha Vance and children arrive to vote at St. Anthony of Padua Maronite Catholic Church
Vance's children will have access to a large house with 33 rooms, a wrap-around veranda, grand staircases and elegant turrets
If Harris had welcomed the Vance family to the vice president's home for a visit, the pair could have shared their love of cooking in the kitchen that was recently updated before she arrived.
Vance enjoys baking with his kids as he celebrated the Christmas holidays sharing a video of him making cookies with his daughter Maribel.
“I feel like cookie making is a lost art and I think every American family should have a cookie on the table at Christmas dinner,” the vice president-elect said.
Earlier in the campaign, Vance told a story about baking an Oreo cheesecake with his son Vivek.
“I'm a big baker,” he admitted to podcaster Joe Rogan.
Kamala Harris speaks at the Naval Observatory
Kamala and Doug plant a tree at their VP residence at the US Naval Observatory in Washington
Vance revealed to a campaign audience that he made cinnamon rolls, dulce de leche rolls and chocolate chip scones with his children three days in a row.
Usha praised JD during her RNC convention speech for being a “meat-and-potatoes guy” who had “adapted to my vegetarian diet.”
But the future vice president still enjoys foods from his childhood in the Midwest, including the occasional fast food order aboard the Trump plane and fried bologna sandwiches, a childhood favorite.
Vance revealed during the campaign that he enjoys fishing, but also has a reputation as a nerd who spends his time reading and enjoys “dorky interests” such as occasionally roleplaying Dungeons and Dragons with friends and playing the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering.
The Vance family also lives in a mixed-faith household. Vance is a recent convert to Catholicism, while Usha is a practicing Hindu.
Second Ladies, who are usually at a different stage of life, usually have distinctive problems on which they focus their talents while their husbands serve the President.
However, Vance's wife Usha's primary focus will be on her family and young children.
“Providing them with a stable, normal, happy life and upbringing is the most important thing for us,” she told Fox and Friends in a rare interview in July. She said it would be a priority to “let them have their lives as children and let them spend a lot of time with their father.”
Newly elected Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance kiss while attending the Vice President's Dinner
Vice President JD Vance's wife, Usha Vance, listens as her husband speaks during a dinner at the National Gallery of Art
US Vice President JD Vance plays on the sea wall with his children Mirabel Rose (L) and Vivek (R) at Mar-a-Lago
Usha Vance values her privacy, especially for the sake of her children, say those close to her, and shares a common desire with First Lady Melania Trump, who fiercely protected her son Barron.
“If that's seen by other people at times, great, and if it's private at other times, great, but I don't think I expect them to become a real feature of all of this,” she said.
The 40-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants grew up in the suburbs of San Diego before attending Yale, where she met the future vice president.
The family moved with her husband to Del Ray, the left-wing Washington, D.C., suburb of Alexandria, Virginia, when he was first elected U.S. Senator from Ohio.
Life for the Vance family will change significantly as JD transitions from the life of a senator to the more detailed, busy life of representing the entire United States.
The laid-back Ohio native will now be tasked with keeping up with Trump and balancing his energy levels on a schedule that starts before dawn and ends late in the evening.
“The most important part of that job is making sure you're in the room so you have a seat at the table and you're not sidelined like a lot of VPs have been,” Bower said.
It's a familiar schedule for those who work in the West Wing, and Vance will be juggling his busy life with his duties as a father.
“The most important part of that job is making sure you're in the room so you have a seat at the table and aren't sidelined like many VPs have been,” she added.
Vice presidents usually get a beating in the press because they often appear on camera but are never in control.
The wrong look, an awkward verbal slip-up, or a statement that could conflict with the president's agenda usually goes viral in an embarrassing way.
Newly elected US Vice President JD Vance and Usha Chillukiri Vance arrive at Mar-A-Lago club on New Year's Eve on December 31, 2024 in Palm Beach,
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, left, and his wife Usha Vance kiss as they arrive at a campaign event
Vance got a taste of the feature when his critics ridiculed him for the clumsy way he ordered donuts from a local bakery. But since then his official actions have become more coordinated.
In the days leading up to the inauguration, Vance visited his family's small cemetery in Kentucky, where five generations of his family, including his grandmother (affectionately called “Mamaw” by Vance and his family), are buried. He later visited the Kountry Kitchen restaurant where the owners graciously hosted him for a meal.
During the campaign, Vance earned positive reviews from Trump for handling media interviews and has maintained a strong social media presence to highlight allies and silence critics.
The carefully honed art of the media battle will likely be a highlight of Vance's vice presidency, as Trump has remarked approvingly on camera about Vance's skills.
“I think the fact that he's a millennial and he's going to be a lot more aware of social media and how he can get messages out, he's obviously very good at getting Trump's message out to his voters,” Brower said.
Vance has earned respect from Trump for his loyalty, but that could disappear in an instant if he messes up. He will always have the looming example of former Vice President Mike Pence to remind him that one wrong mistake could separate him from Trump and the MAGA movement forever.
But on Inauguration Day, the new administration usually enjoys the magic of the ceremonies before the political grind begins.
Usha and Vance will attend the inaugural balls on Monday night, as the kids are likely in bed.
However, amid the unprecedented spectacle of this momentous event, there is no doubt that the newly inaugurated vice president will be distracted.
That same evening, his alma mater Ohio State Buckeyes football team plays the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in the season's championship game.
