Usha Vance calls newborn son’s Secret Service detail ‘sort of an absurdity’

WASHINGTON, DC: Parenthood looks a little different for Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance as they raise their fourth child, 2-month-old son Alec, under round-the-clock federal protection.

Alec is the first baby born to a sitting vice president in more than 150 years, succeeding Schuyler Colfax III, who was born to former vice president and his wife, Ellen Wade Colfax, during Ulysses S Grant's presidency in 1870.

Usha Vance talks of parenting struggles

"He has a Secret Service detail. None of our newborns had that before," Usha, 40, said of their 2-month-old son, Alec, in an interview with Daily Wire published on Tuesday, September 22.

"It's sort of an absurdity because he's always attached to me," the second lady admitted. "He's never anywhere far from me."

"It's different to wonder whether people are watching when you're struggling with some of the things that any parent of any newborn struggles with," Usha said of raising Alec in the public eye. "But people have been really wonderful about it."

Usha and JD Vance, 42, announced in January they were expecting their fourth child, saying in a statement shared on Instagram, "We're very excited to share the news that Usha is pregnant with our fourth child, a boy," and noting they expected to welcome him in late July.

Alec Neel Vance arrived on July 19, with the couple writing on X, “Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother," their statement read. "The incredible military doctors and staff members of Walter Reed Medical Center and the White House Medical Unit have been a blessing. We are deeply thankful for all they have done for our family."

Raising a baby in the public eye

She continued, "Either they don't notice me because I think it's sort of an unexpected thing to be in their bagel shop or coffee shop or library or whatever; they're not looking for me in that kind of environment. And when they have noticed, it's only been to be congratulatory, say something sweet about the baby, that sort of thing."

As the family settles into life with another newborn, Usha said that her older kids are taking very well to their big sibling roles. 

"[Mirabel] seems to think that she has gotten a promotion, so she's really into it," she said on Tuesday, adding of Ewan, "He is absolutely enamored of his brother. He wants to do everything for him. He's always trying to hold him; he burps him."

Usha also praised JD for maintaining a good balance between fatherhood and his vice presidential duties.

Usha concluded, "It's basically the same JD who was the father of the first three is the father of the fourth, and he's just as involved. It just takes a little army behind him to make that possible."