The second Trump administration has reached its first 200 days, with accomplishments abounding. Just as there were plenty of accomplishments to celebrate during the first 100 days, there continues to be more to highlight. Vice President JD Vance has been right there alongside President Donald Trump from the start.
On Thursday, the White House put out a list of accomplishments focusing on promises made and promises kept. The very first had to do with no taxes on tips and the One Big Beautiful Bill, which Trump signed into law on July 4.
Vance played a crucial role in getting the OBBB to the finish line as he cast the tiebreaking vote in the Senate. He’s cast plenty of other tiebreaking votes, with The Daily Signal’s Jacob Adams heralding Vance as one who has “emerged as an essential force in getting President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda across the finish line” as a result.
Even before his July 1 vote, Vance helped get the OBBB over the finish line in other ways, as he met with Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, both initially holdouts on the bill who ultimately voted in favor of it.
The vice president has gone on to promote the OBBB since its passage. The Daily Signal was part of the pool as Vance toured Metallus factory in Canton, Ohio, on July 28. He not only promoted the bill and its no tax on tips as well as no tax on overtime provisions but also took a question from The Daily Signal on how the OBBB could affect the midterms.
The same month that the OBBB was signed into law, former first lady Michelle Obama’s portraitist, Amy Sherald, canceled an exhibit at the Smithsonian that would have featured the Statue of Liberty after recieving criticism from Vance. Fox News reported on the story late last month.
As the article mentioned, an executive order that Trump signed in March put Vance in charge of having programs or exhibits from Smithsonian museums removed that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.”
Not only was Vance named in the executive order, he was part of a board meeting to consider changes, as The Wall Street Journal reported in June.
From the start, though, Vance has been an integral part of the administration and its agenda. The vice president was able to get senators on board to vote for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, now the secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of National Intelligence, respectively.
Less than a month into the second Trump term, Vance also went to Paris. In his first foreign speech as vice president, he told Europe that it is the United States that will dominate Artificial Intelligence.
Vance has been a key figure on international matters in other ways as well. In April, he and his family traveled to India, where the vice president met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss a trade agreement.
The vice president was also involved in encouraging India to agree to a ceasefire with Pakistan in May. There’s been chatter that Trump should win a Nobel Peace Prize over the ceasefire and many other such agreements. Cambodia announced this week it will nominate Trump for the prize over the Cambodia-Thailand agreement, with Israel and Pakistan having also nominated Trump in June.
Vance’s accomplishments have been noticed in other ways, even before reaching his 200th day in office. RealClearPolitics on June 28 published American Majority’s Ned Ryun’s commentary on how the “Trump Admin Mobilizes JD Vance as Effective MAGA Advocate.”
Ryun’s commentary focused heavily on the ceasefire announced between Iran and Israel, as well as how Vance had weighed in on the topic of Trump’s involvement in Iran by reminding from his X account how the president has been “amazingly consistent” when it comes to insisting that Iran not acquire a nuclear weapon.
“The Trump administration has accomplished more since Inauguration Day than most administration’s accomplish in four years,” a Vance spokesperson told The Daily Signal. “In his historic first two hundred days, the president has secured the border, passed massive tax cuts for working families, negotiated better trade deals for American workers with dozens of countries, and brokered peace deals in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Americans are better off thanks to the tireless work of President Trump and Vice President Vance.”
The political future for Vance may even continue beyond his time as vice president. Both Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have mentioned his name as the future of the party and of the “Make America Great Again” movement. Polls continue to show support for Vance as the 2028 Republican nominee from Republican primary voters.