By Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Vice President JD Vance will serve as the finance chair of the Republican National Committee, the party said on Tuesday, a role that will give him valuable face time with top conservative donors heading into the next presidential campaign.
No sitting vice president has ever served as the RNC’s finance chair. While Vance already has relationships with major Republican donors, particularly in Silicon Valley, this new role will expand his potential donor pool should he run to succeed President Donald Trump atop the Republican ticket in 2028.
Vance’s first challenge will be raising funds for the 2026 congressional midterm elections. Republicans are fighting to defend their razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives, which is key if Trump is to pass any significant legislation during his final two years in office.
“JD will do a fantastic job as RNC Finance Chair,” Trump said in a statement. “He knows how to fight and win tough races.”
Vance is replacing Richard “Duke” Buchan III, who was tapped by Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador to Morocco, the RNC said.
The presidential campaign typically begins just a few months after the midterms. While Trump has declined to identify Vance as his heir apparent, Vance has a solid relationship with the president and is popular with the Republican base.
Vance has emerged as a leader in the Republican Party’s movement away from foreign policy interventionism and laissez-faire economics, and has at times expressed open hostility toward European leaders.
That shift in the party has caused unease among some donors, even as Vance has a stable of deep-pocketed allies.
Vance’s new position will give him an opportunity to assuage concerns among donors who still support the robust foreign policy and free-market principles for which the Republican Party has traditionally stood.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Bill Berkrot)
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