Vice President JD Vance is skipping a meeting scheduled with House Republicans on Tuesday to appear on a MAGA podcast.
The vice president canceled his meeting with the House GOP due to “scheduling conflicts,” and that conflict appears to be a day in Austin, Texas, where Vance is expected to tape an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience.
Public flight data shows that Air Force Two, the vice president’s aircraft, departed the Washington, D.C., area Tuesday morning and arrived at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport around 8 a.m.
Vance canceling on House Republicans comes as the caucus has been in a weeks-long stalemate as MAGA rebels have refused to go along with leadership’s priorities.
Over a dozen conservative hardliners have blocked a vote for the typically bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act. They have demanded that House Speaker Mike Johnson attach MAGA’s doomed voter ID legislation, the SAVE Act, to it. Some hard-liners have also threatened to block other votes unless the Senate passes the SAVE Act, which does not have the votes to pass in the upper chamber as it stands.
The GOP rebels have forced Republican leadership to cancel votes for the last two weeks. Vance’s scheduled appearance had been welcome for Republican leadership as they try to squash the ongoing revolt in their party.
Rep. Lisa McClain, the GOP conference chair, had invited Vance to the caucus’ weekly meeting to deliver remarks and take questions from members, Politico reported. Vance had been planning to encourage the rebellious members to reopen the House floor to advance the Trump administration’s legislative agenda.
The vice president’s office did not return the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Vance’s appearance on Joe Rogan’s show comes as he has been making the rounds on cable news shows and even ABC’s The View, to promote his new book Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.
Rogan, a former independent-turned-MAGA, has one of the top podcasts in the U.S. He is a part of the so-called “podcast bros” who helped get President Donald Trump elected in the last election as their shows appear to younger, male audiences. Vance last appeared on the show in October 2024.
But he’s recently turned sour on Trump over the president’s hardline immigration policies and the his war in Iran.
At the same time’s been criticizing Trump, Rogan has praised Vance, calling him “f---ing amazing” and a “masterclass” in public speaking.
“He’s so good,” the podcaster said in March. “He’s great. Thank God for that guy. He’s so good at dismantling those dopey people.”
