WASHINGTON, D.C. – JD Vance was sworn-in as Ohio’s junior U.S. senator on Jan. 3. So far, he says he loves the job.

What You Need To Know

  • JD Vance is four months into his journey as a U.S. senator

  • Vance spoke with Spectrum News about his impressions of the job so far

  • The train derailment in East Palestine prompted Vance to quickly join forces with Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown to work on passing a rail safety bill
  • But Vance has also made sure to make clear he is a Donald Trump conservative who is no fan of President Joe Biden’s administration

“It’s a great honor to serve. And I’m still at that phase where I pinch myself every single day walking these halls, where so many great people have done so many great things,” Vance told Spectrum News in an interview last week.

At 38, he is the second-youngest member of the Senate and the youngest Republican.

Vance is already drawing attention for his legislative efforts and his support of former President Donald Trump.

The “Hillbilly Elegy” author and venture capitalist got elected after convincing Ohio voters he converted from being a Trump critic to a Trump superfan.

Soon after taking office, Vance gained attention by demanding the U.S. stop providing aid to Ukraine and by posting a photo of himself pointing a gun overhead as a Chinese spy balloon floated across the country.

As that post was going viral, a train derailed in northeast Ohio and unleashed toxic chemicals into the air and water. It altered Vance’s start to the job.

“Watch this. Just see that chemical pop out of the creek. This is disgusting!” Vance said in a video he tweeted out days later, on Feb. 16, as he visited East Palestine. It was the first of several trips there.

Vance teamed up with senior Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, to introduce a sweeping rail safety bill. While testifying at a hearing together, Vance even criticized members of his own party who pushed back against the legislation.

“A particular slice of people who seem to think that any public safety enhancements for the rail industry is somehow a violation of the free market,” Vance testified. “Well if you look at this industry and what’s happened in the last 30 years, that argument is a farce.”

Bipartisan support for the bill is growing. President Joe Biden and Trump have endorsed it, and it will be voted on by a Senate committee on Wednesday.

Vance is the third Republican senator from Ohio Brown has served alongside.

“It’s been great. It’s been straightforward…a really good start because this is one the biggest things we’ve worked on and we’re doing it together,” Brown told Spectrum News last week. “It may have surprised some people, but if it surprised people they haven’t looked at my record of always working across the aisle.”

Although Vance has gotten a lot of attention for his bipartisan efforts on the rail bill, he’s also made clear since entering the Senate that he is a Trump conservative who is no fan of the Biden administration.

“He's basically playing Russian Roulette with the country's finances,” Vance said of Biden during a press conference about raising the debt ceiling last week.

From the debt ceiling debate to foreign policy, Vance criticizes Biden every chance he can.

In January, Vance became one of the first GOP senators to endorse Trump’s third campaign for president. He argues Trump is the strongest Republican to take on Biden, despite losing to him in 2020, and that Trump should run on the economy.

“I really think that’s going to be a major theme of his reelection campaign, is look, the results speak for themselves,” Vance said last week. “Do you want wages growing faster than inflation? Vote for Donald Trump. If you want inflation growing faster than wages, then Joe Biden’s your guy. And I really think that’s going to be a good and winning argument for the president.”

Vance has also made headlines for defending Tucker Carlson, who was ousted from Fox News last month and has a history of making racist and sexist comments on and off the air. Vance appeared regularly on his show.

“Tucker’s a dear friend of mine. And I think, like you said, a great leader in the conservative movement. A huge mistake for Fox to part ways with him in the way that they did,” Vance said in an interview with Newsmax last week.

Since entering office, Vance has introduced at least four bills of his own and cosponsored over 50 others. But he said the power of constituent services has surprised him most since getting sworn-in.

“Picking up the phone and calling the State Department to get a passport issue resolved. Just maybe publicly hounding Norfolk Southern to hasten the cleanup in East Palestine, which I think has been quite effective,” Vance said. “So I’ve been surprised at how much we’re able to do just as individual senators, not as the entire body, and that’s a good thing."