Jacob Reses to Step Down as JD Vance’s Chief of Staff, Ending Key Administration Role]
Jacob Reses, the Jewish chief of staff to Vice President JD Vance, will depart the administration at the end of summer, a source confirmed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Thursday.
Reses, who has served in the role since Vance and President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, maintains one of the closest relationships with the vice president. Their bond dates back to Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign in Ohio.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Reses informed Vance of his decision months ago, following the birth of his child. Vance praised Reses in a statement, saying he will “miss him dearly, but he won’t be far, and I plan to keep his counsel close until our paths cross again.” Reses’ future plans remain undisclosed.
Vance has faced criticism from some Jewish Republicans for not adequately addressing antisemitism on the right, including from former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, whose son also works on Vance’s team. A March New York Magazine profile suggested Reses aligned with Vance’s approach and noted he used his private X account to encourage Jewish communities to embrace, rather than resist, the Christian nationalist movement gaining ground within the Republican Party.
Vance described Reses as “by my side for my whole career in public life,” adding, “From day one of my time as a Senator-elect, I could not have asked for a more loyal and discerning advisor and friend.”
Reses’ close ties with Vance drew antisemitic targeting, including from white-nationalist outlets that labeled him “Another Nail in the Coffin — Jew Runs J. D. Vance.”
A 2024 JTA profile traced Reses’ evolution from a Democratic-leaning Jewish teen in southern New Jersey—whose grandfather escaped the Holocaust in Lithuania—to a leading conservative figure in Washington. His career path included internships with Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, a political shift at Princeton, and roles at the Heritage Foundation and as a staffer for Senator Josh Hawley.
Republican leaders and Trump administration officials publicly praised Reses upon his departure. The Republican Jewish Coalition called him “invaluable, loyal, and trusted,” while Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted he served “with distinction.” Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff humorously dubbed him a “killer” beneath his “kind exterior,” adding, “We haven’t seen the last of him.”
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