The Second Lady

US Vice-President's Wife Usha Vance.

- M R Dua

When Usha Vance, accompanied by her husband J.D. Vance, the US Vice-President, and their family arrived in New Delhi, India, on April 21, she will be added yet another 'first' to her brilliant, eloquent, and multifaceted profile. Usha Vance's many firsts included being the first Asian-Indian-origin American to be the Second Lady of the United States of America, the first Hindu American, the first Telugu American, the first non-Christian US Vice-President's wife, the first one married in an inter-faith ceremony, the first Second Lady with two stints at Yale University, and a Master of Philosophy degree from Cambridge.

Incidentally, this was the first visit to India by a senior member of the 47th US President Donald J. Trump's second White House term.

Meanwhile, the Indian-origin, America-born Usha Chilukuri, wife of J.D. Vance, the U.S. Second Lady, graduated in history and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. She was the first Indian American woman to clerk with the US Supreme Court judges, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, as well as with Judge Amul Thapar.

Among her many roles, Usha 'wears' several hats: daughter of immigrants, Yale graduate, lawyer, mother of three, and wife of the US Vice-President. Some critics from the Right, including Trump supporters, have reportedly expressed disapproval of her Indian roots, sparking racist backlash. Professionally, she marked a milestone when she was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 2019 and began handling civil litigation. She worked with three prominent law firms before stepping away to marry J.D. Vance.