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Second lady Usha Vance said she is "open to new ideas" about her next professional steps after putting her legal career on hold to support her husband's 2024 vice presidential bid.
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In a wide-ranging interview with ABC News on Monday, June 1, she said she had no idea what she wanted to do next, but that "the time will come" when she returns to her professional life.
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Usha, who has three children with Vice President J.D. Vance and another on the way, previously worked as a Supreme Court justice's clerk and as an attorney at the prestigious San Francisco law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Second Lady Usha Vance discussed putting her legal career on hold and the possibility of returning to the profession in a rare interview. ABC News Live Prime on Monday, June 1.
Usha, married to Vice President J.D. Vance, left her job as an attorney at the prestigious San Francisco law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson in 2024 after President Donald Trump nominated J.D., then a freshman senator from Ohio, as his running mate in that year's presidential election.
«"In light of today's news, I have resigned from my position at Munger, Tolles & Olson to focus on caring for our family," Usha said in a statement at the time. "I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities Munger has provided me, as well as for the wonderful colleagues and friends I have worked with over the years.".
She previously served as a judicial clerk to several federal judges, including then-Appeals Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
On Monday, the second lady, 40, said her law license would remain suspended for now, but "the time will come again when I will resume the practice of law.".
Usha also noted—when asked by ABC's Linsey Davis if she had any feelings about the barrage of criticism directed at the Supreme Court in recent years—that since she stepped away from her legal work, she doesn't follow the daily headlines surrounding the high court and its justices as closely.
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During the interview, Davis asked Usha about what her return to work might look like in the future.
«"I really have no idea," the second lady said of her next steps. "The legal profession is vast and diverse, and over the last couple of years—and over the next few years—I've been exposed to a lot of really interesting ways of thinking about legal issues and applying them to things that really matter to me.".
J.D. and Usha Vance at the 2024 Republican National Convention. Photo: Joe Radle/Getty.
«"Right now, I'm quite open to different options," she added. "I'm trying to figure out what's really important to me and considering how I can apply the skills I've acquired as a lawyer and at this stage of my life to this field. I'll make a decision when the time comes.".
She hinted that her next step might be to expand her efforts as Second Lady to improve early childhood literacy. Usha, who has three children with J.D. and is expecting a fourth this summer, launched her own podcast. «Story Time with the Second Lady »" in March and this week announced the second annual summer reading marathon.
On Monday, Usha told Davis she hopes the reading program, launched in partnership with schools and libraries across the country, will help combat summer learning loss. She explained that the program encourages children in kindergarten through eighth grade to read 12 books of their choice this summer, and each participating child will be entered into a drawing to win, among other prizes, a visit to the White House.
In her wide-ranging interview with ABC News on Monday, the second lady also touched on her husband's possible future career, saying she believes J.D. "would be very successful at whatever he wanted to do.".
«"I'm not a particularly politically ambitious person," she said of the possibility of J.D. ever running for president, "but I'd like to see him happy. I'd like to see him make a meaningful contribution, and whatever form that takes, I'll support him.".
Read the original article on People.