Vice President JD Vance is losing his top aide just as the White House is grappling with mounting political and legal challenges.
Vance’s chief of staff, Jacob Reses, is set to leave the Trump administration at the end of the summer, just over one year from the beginning of a presidential election campaign in which the vice president is expected to be the frontrunner.
Reses has been at Vance’s side since the Ohio Republican entered the Senate in 2023 and is seen as one of the most influential figures in his orbit.
The 35-year-old Princeton graduate has played a major role in shaping Vance’s domestic political agenda and some insiders say his influence over foreign policy even rivals that of the vice president’s own national security adviser.
“Jacob’s been by my side for my whole career in public life. I can’t imagine having been on this life-changing journey without him,” Vance said.
“From day one of my time as a Senator-elect, I could not have asked for a more loyal and discerning advisor and friend as my chief of staff. I’ll miss him dearly, but he won’t be far, and I plan to keep his counsel close until our paths cross again.”
Reses reportedly informed Vance of his plans several months ago, after his wife became pregnant with their first child.
But his move is seen as a huge loss for the administration, with everyone from White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche praising him in statements to the Daily Beast.
“Jacob has been an important part of our White House leadership team and has served the Vice President with absolute distinction. From diplomacy and war, to complicated matters, to the most minute logistics, there has been no task too big or too small for him to tackle,” said Wiles.
The departure also comes at a turbulent stretch for the administration.
Trump is facing a growing number of legal and political battles, plummeting poll numbers and a war with no end in sight, while Republicans are increasingly focused on positioning themselves for the post-Trump era.
Vance has emerged as the leading contender to inherit the MAGA movement, with Rubio as a close second, making the loss of a trusted adviser particularly significant.
Politically, the move also raises questions about who will help shape Vance’s path forward as Republicans increasingly look beyond Trump’s second term.
But not all Trump allies have backed Vance as Trump’s natural successor. MAGA stalwart Steve Bannon, for example, pointedly snubbed the vice president when asked during a recent forum if he was the heir to the MAGA movement.
“MAGA has President Trump, and as you know, I’m a huge advocate of President Trump’s third term,” Bannon said, even though a third presidential term would in fact be illegal.
