Vance proves pivotal in pushing through controversial Trump nominees

Vice President Vance has quickly become President Trump's liaison to the Senate, which has paid dividends as the GOP-led body moves to confirm even Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks.

The Senate GOP has long included voices skeptical of Trump, and even with a larger 53-seat majority that includes a number of new Trump allies, there have been doubts about some Cabinet picks.

Now national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard and Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appear headed toward confirmation after several doubters announced their support this week, leading to committee approval of their nominations.

“He’s been enormously helpful,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told The Hill of Vance. “[He’s] willing to talk to whomever and served as a really good liaison between the president and our members, and I think people appreciate the fact that he’s been really candid. He’s not sugarcoating anything.”

Vance, a source close to the Trump team said, has been a “kind of chief Senate lobbyist.” He's been credited for getting Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) to back Gabbard in committee, and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) in supporting Kennedy.

And his portfolio goes beyond just his work in the Senate.

He has been tasked with overseeing a TikTok deal, heads to Europe next week for artificial intelligence (AI) and global security meetings, has traveled to oversee hurricane recovery efforts in the U.S., and has made suggestions on key personnel, like his former aide Gail Slater who has been tapped to head the Department of Justice’s antitrust division.

But, his role as a liaison to the Senate has proven to be the biggest asset to the Trump team.

Both Young and Cassidy talked at length about the vice president’s involvement in helping them get to “yes” on a pair of nominees each seemed squeamish at best over during high-profile confirmation hearings and lauded him profusely.

The Indiana Republican, a fellow ex-Marine, said that Vance was “respectful” throughout their multiple discussions between the hearing and the committee vote that will likely pave the way for Gabbard to win confirmation.

“He listened a lot more than he talked, and he, frankly, seemed to be effective on his end in getting from me the concessions that were required to get to a ‘yes,’” Young told reporters last week. “He came through. He delivered for me, and I’m grateful for that, and that’s why he was able, in the end, to deliver for the president.

The conducive talks with Vance came amid growing pressure between pro-Trump allies.

Elon Musk, who has perhaps the most powerful sway in bending Trump’s ear, referred to Young as a “deep state puppet” in an X post that was deleted shortly after the two talked.

But then Vance on Friday gave Musk a public nod when he argued that a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer who resigned after social media posts of his came to light that espoused racist beliefs should be hired back.

Young consistently cited the ex-Ohio senator as being the driving force to delivering concessions that include Gabbard’s support to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and a refusal on her end to support whistleblowers in the mold of Edward Snowden, who drew the ire of multiple Intelligence panel members during the hearing.

The same is largely the true for Cassidy, who delivered the decisive vote to advance Kennedy despite public concerns. He described Vance as an “honest broker” during their discussions.

Both members acknowledged that neither were particularly close to Vance during his brief tenure in the upper chamber upon now heaping praise. Cassidy told reporters that the vice president was more of an “acquaintance” during that time as they served on different sets of committees.

Young also indicated as much despite noting that he has an “affinity” for Vance given their backgrounds as ex-Marines and Midwesterners.

“I don’t want to overstate it,” Young said. “I spoke to him more in this process than I have before, but he deserves more than a measure of credit for working with me and delivering what I needed to be supportive of the president’s nominee.”

Vance’s ability to assuage members also stands in stark contrast to what they experienced eight years ago as former Vice President Mike Pence had few tangible relationships with the Senate GOP. Instead, he tried to make inroads with members he served alongside in the House when he was a congressman.

Thune noted that Vance’s Senate connections have been key for Trump’s agenda, especially at this early stage.

“There’s certainly value in having somebody that’s a member of the family,” Thune said. “With that comes an understanding [and] a gravitas when making the points that need to be made, and acceptance of that by people that he’s been talking with. He’s been great — been deployed a lot and been very willing to do the hard work. Some stuff’s not easy.”

They are quick to note that Vance’s recent experience is already paying dividends, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) also serving as a prime example.

The North Carolina Republican publicly grappled with his vote on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which went down to the wire before he ultimately backed him and put him over the finish line.

But he pointed to Vance — who he speaks to frequently and surveyed hurricane damage in the Tar Heel State in December — as playing a key role in allowing him to work through his process as he tried to make heads or tails of the allegations Hegseth was facing.

“His knowledge is so current,” Tillis said, calling him “very, very accessible.” “The president benefits from somebody that will understand the dynamic of our conference in a way that will be impossible for anyone that hadn’t lived it for a couple of years.”

“He knows the personalities. I’m kind of known for being very tedious and detail-oriented,” Tillis continued, saying that the vice president listened when Tillis told him he needed to work through the allegations on his own.

“Let me get through a process,” Tillis said, repeating the line he told Vance and administration officials, saying that Vance gave him the space to operate that he needed. “If he’s doing that for other members, it will invariably benefit the president and his agenda.”

And, through his work swaying senators to support nominees, there is a sense of pressure on Vance to keep Trump happy, sources who spoke to The Hill suggested, especially after the president broke ties with Pence when he wouldn’t help his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

“Whatever Vance is doing, he's certainly getting a lot of air cover, if you will,” said the source close to the Trump team.

Vance, too, is seen as the potential future of the MAGA movement in the Republican party and a possible candidate in 2028 when Trump’s first term is up.

“Vice President Vance is drawing a clear line in the sand: align with Trump’s vision or reject him, the Americans who voted for his agenda, and the future of the Republican Party. He's forcing them to play the long game with these votes,” said Jordan Wood, a former Trump administration communications aide.

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