DeSmog

JD Vance

Senator JD Vance's official Senate portrait

Credentials

Background

James David (JD) Vance has been a Republican senator from Ohio since January 20233About JD Vance,” Vance.senate.gov. Accessed July 2024. Archived July 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/Dii4Y and was chosen as Donald Trump’s running mate and would-be vice president for the November 2024 election.4Mike Wendling. “JD Vance was once ‘never Trump’. Now he’s his running mate,” BBC News, July 15, 2024. Archived July 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/0rU5t Vance was voted into the Senate to represent Ohio for the Republican Party in the 2022 midterm elections.5About JD Vance,” Vance.senate.gov. Accessed July 2024. Archived July 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/Dii4Y

Vance published his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, in June 2016.6Adrian Horton. “Hillbilly Elegy: what can the book and movie tell us about JD Vance?The Guardian, July 19, 2024. Archived September 23, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/6juJj After graduating from Yale Law School,7Stephanie Saul. “How Yale Propelled J.D. Vance’s Career,” The New York Times, July 17, 2024. Archived September 23, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Hm6Ta he worked as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.8Dan Primack. “J.D. Vance’s short career in venture capital,” Axios, July 16, 2025. Archived September 23, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZVhcO

Since being elected senator for Ohio,9About JD Vance,” Vance.senate.gov. Accessed July 2024. Archived July 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/Dii4Y Vance has introduced or co-sponsored numerous bills10US Senator: J.D. Vance,Bill Track 50. Archived September 23, 2024. to repeal emissions reduction targets,11S.27 – Focus on the Mission Act of 2023,” Congress.gov. Archived September 24, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/gdByY replace tax subsidies for electric vehicles with funding for diesel and gasoline vehicles,12S.2962 – Drive American Act,Congress.gov. Archived September 23, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2PfGG and punish climate protestors more harshly.13S.3483 – Consequences for Climate Vandals Act,” Congress.gov. Archived September 23, 2024. He has used his platform to oppose climate action and the scientific consensus that human activity causes climate change.14Nina Lakhani. “Climate advocates fear picking JD Vance for VP is ‘a dangerous step backward’,” The Guardian, July 16, 2024. Archived September 23, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nFwIL

An article from Politico reported that Vance “has multiple green investments in his portfolio, despite once calling environmental, social and governance investing a ‘massive racket to enrich Wall Street.’”15Nicole Norman. “Vance changed his tune on climate change. Oil cash flowed.,” Politico, July 16, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/2Ctql 

Before his election to the Senate, JD Vance expressed support for renewable energy but later turned against climate action, which an article in Politico suggested was because the fossil fuel industry gave him more than $280,000 during his Senate election campaign in 2022.16Nicole Norman. “Vance changed his tune on climate change. Oil cash flowed.,” Politico, July 16, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/2Ctql

Between 2014 and 2017, Vance commented in emails to a friend that Trump is “morally reprehensible.”17Martin Pengelly. “JD Vance calls Trump ‘morally reprehensible’ in resurfaced emails,” The Guardian, July 29, 2024. Archived September 23, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hOFbC

While not directly affiliated, Vance wrote the forward to a book by the Heritage Foundation’s president, Kevin Roberts.18Martin Pengelly. “JD Vance writes foreword for Project 2025 leader’s upcoming book,” The Guardian, July 24, 2024. Archived August 22, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/xeV4v Vance also addressed the Heritage Foundation’s leadership summit in 2023. In their press release announcing his attendance, Vance celebrated the Heritage Foundation with his quote: “As conservatives, we owe so much to the Heritage Foundation and all that they’ve contributed to our cause over the past fifty years.”19Heritage Leadership Summit to Feature 5 Senators on America’s Most Pressing Issues,” Heritage Foundation, May 23, 2023. Archived July 31, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/67ZpS More recently, Vance was reported to have endorsed a Heritage Foundation report in 2017.20Clarissa-Jan Lim. “JD Vance endorsed a Heritage Foundation report in 2017, and it has come back to haunt him,” MSNBC, September 3, 2024. Archived September 23, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/0sCwb

Stance on Climate Change

July 30, 2024

Vance posted on X on July 30, 2024, that “Kamala’s Green New Scam means the end of American manufacturing,” and included a video of an interview he gave to ABC News where he said the line that “Kamala Harris has doubled down on this green energy scam.”21JD Vance. “Kamala’s Green New Scam means the end of American manufacturing,” X post by user @JDVance, July 30, 2024. Archived .png and .mp4 on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.is/HhazG

July 2024

At the Republican National Convention in July 2024, Vance gave a speech in which he labeled Joe Biden’s climate and energy plans “the green new scam.”22William Gavin. “‘A Green New Scam,’ Wall Street bashing, and restoring U.S. factories: Takeaways from J.D. Vance’s RNC speech,” Quartz, July 18, 2024. Archived July 26, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/bbeeO Vance repeated this line in a speech following the announcement that Kamala Harris intended to run as the Democratic candidate for the November 2024 election, saying she “co-sponsored the ‘Green New Scam.’”23Isaac Arnsdorf. “Vance tells donors Harris change was a ‘sucker punch,’ at odds with campaign,” Washington Post, July 29, 2024. Archived July 31, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/rtWuO

August 26, 2023

In an essay Vance published in The Marietta Times in 2023, he criticized Joe Biden’s climate and energy policy, arguing that it amounted to a “wanton harassment of fossil fuel companies, to the detriment of the American people,” continuing that “a war on traditional American energy is a war on the American standard of living.”24JD Vance. “Now the time to expand Utica Shale usage,” The Marietta Times, August 26, 2023. Archived July 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/gjUeS

In December 2023, the US produced more oil than any country in history.25United States produces more crude oil than any country, ever,” U.S Energy Information Administration, March 11, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/nd5rE

He has been a vocal proponent of hydraulic fracking in the U.S., particularly in his state of Ohio, arguing in the same Marietta Times essay that:26United States produces more crude oil than any country, ever,” U.S Energy Information Administration, March 11, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/nd5rE

“I believe that right now is the time to double down on the Ohio energy industry. In order to maximize output in the Utica Shale, oil and gas producers require new infrastructure – pipelines and refineries, large and small.”

July 2022

Vance has consistently criticized and voted against measures to promote electric vehicles (EVs), including saying in July 2022 that “[t]he whole EV thing is a scam” because “if you plug it into your wall, do these people think there are Keebler elves back there making energy in the wall? It comes, of course, from fossil fuels.”27Jennifer A Dlouhy and Ari Natter. “Vance’s Scorn for Clean Energy Grew as Ohio Embraced It,” Bloomberg, July 16, 2024. Archived July 16, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

October 25, 2021

Vance gave a speech to the American Leadership Forum in which he said, “I’m skeptical of the idea that climate change is caused purely by man,” casting doubt on the human-made nature of climate change by adding, “It’s been changing, as others pointed out, it’s been changing for millennia.”28Center for Christian Virtue. “American Leadership Forum | An Evening with the Ohio Candidates for US Senate,” video uploaded by user @CCVPolicy, October 25, 2021. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog. 

In the same speech, he criticized wind power in his state of Ohio, claiming Democrats’ climate plans resulted in “these ridiculous ugly windmills all over Ohio farms that don’t produce enough electricity to run a cell phone on.”29Center for Christian Virtue. “American Leadership Forum | An Evening with the Ohio Candidates for US Senate,” video uploaded by user @CCVPolicy, October 25, 2021. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog. 

2020

Vance praised solar energy and said that while gas was an improvement over dirtier forms of fuel, it was not “the sort of thing that’s gonna take us to a clean energy future.”30Ohio State Centre for Ethics and Human Values. “What is the American Dream?” First Session with J.D. Vance and Darrick Hamilton,” YouTube video uploaded by user @OSUCEHV, February 10, 2020. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Funding

Vance has received campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry totaling $352,037 between 2019 and 2024, according to the campaign finance database OpenSecrets.31Top Industries 2019 – 2024,” OpenSecrets. Accessed July 2024. Archived July 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/tNyws

Key Quotes

August 19, 2024

Vance published an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal titled “JD Vance: Harris Wages War on U.S. Energy,” in which he argued that net zero alone was responsible for increases in energy costs in the U.S. that were pushing people into poverty.32JD Vance. “JD Vance: Harris Wages War on U.S. Energy,” The Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/WqyW9 He criticized net zero, saying: 

“The net-zero project is already stifling investment in the coal, natural gas, and nuclear plants that Americans rely on for reliable, affordable ‘base load’ electricity.” 

Vance also argued that the U.S. pursuing net zero would be pointless “[w]ith China building a new coal plant every week” and would offshore jobs to China, resulting in a “lose-lose” for American jobs and the climate.

He used Democratic candidate Kamala Harris’ endorsement of net zero as a means to attack her policy platform, saying, “Her policies make the environment worse while turning millions of Americans into paupers.” 

August 26, 2023 

In an essay Vance published in The Marietta Times in 2023, he criticized Joe Biden’s climate and energy policy, arguing that it amounted to a “wanton harassment of fossil fuel companies, to the detriment of the American people,” and continuing that “a war on traditional American energy is a war on the American standard of living.”33JD Vance. “Now the time to expand Utica Shale usage,” The Marietta Times, August 26, 2023. Archived July 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/gjUeS

July 28, 2022

When interviewed on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, Vance said:34Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show H1 – Jul 28 2022,” Listen Notes, July 28, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 

“Even if there was a climate crisis, I don’t know how the way to solve it is to buy more Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles. The whole EV (electric vehicle) thing is a scam.”

October 25, 2021​​

Vance gave a speech at the American Leadership Forum in which he said:

“I’m skeptical of the idea that climate change is caused purely by man,” adding, “It’s been changing, as others pointed out, it’s been changing for millennia.”35Center for Christian Virtue. “American Leadership Forum | An Evening with the Ohio Candidates for US Senate,” video uploaded by user @CCVPolicy, October 25, 2021. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Key Actions

August 27, 2024 

A report from the Guardian revealed that JD Vance wrote the forward to a book written by the Heritage Foundation’s president, Kevin Roberts, titled Dawn’s Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America.36Martin Pengelly. “JD Vance writes foreword for Project 2025 leader’s upcoming book,” The Guardian, July 24, 2024. Archived August 22, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/xeV4v The media has publicized Roberts as the head of Project 2025, described by The Guardian as “the vast rightwing plan for a second Trump administration Democrats say shows the authoritarian threat posed by the GOP” despite the Trump campaign’s efforts to distance itself from Project 2025.37Michelle R. Smith and Ali Swenson. “Vance praises a key leader behind Project 2025, a conservative effort Trump has disavowed,” AP, July 31, 2024. Archived August 28, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/oHGi1

The Project 2025 manifesto, titled “Mandate for Leadership: A Conservative Promise,” includes a promise to “[u]nleash American energy production to reduce energy prices”38Homepage,” Project2025.org. Archived September 2, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/Oqkdp by cutting subsidies for renewable energy and promoting and protecting fossil fuel energy.39Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” The Heritage Foundation, 2023. Archived September 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/aJmoN 

May 23, 2024

Vance co-sponsored a bill led by Republican senator Ted Cruz titled the “Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act,” which proposed amending the Clean Air Act to repeal incentives to reduce methane emissions in natural gas systems through taxation.40S.4405 – Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act,” Congress.gov, May 23, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/DsUle. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. The bill did not progress beyond introduction in the Senate. 

March 23, 2024

Vance co-sponsored a senate bill that would cut all 2024 funding for the Environmental Protection Agency earmarked for implementing rules designed to enforce stricter standards of harmful pollutants from light- and medium-duty vehicles from 2027 onwards, or “any substantially similar rule.”41S.4072 – A bill to prohibit the use of funds to implement, administer, or enforce certain rules of the Environmental Protection Agency.,” Congress.gov, March 23, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/md3pL The bill failed to make it through the Senate. 

December 13, 2024 

Vance introduced a senate bill titled the “Consequences for Climate Vandals Act,” which would increase the maximum criminal penalties faced by climate protestors who targeted “the National Gallery of Art and certain other buildings and grounds.”42S.3483 – Consequences for Climate Vandals Act,” Congress.gov, December 13, 2024. Archived September 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/vN8S6 The bill did not progress beyond introduction in the Senate. 

December 6, 2024 

Vance co-signed a letter sent to the Environmental Protection Agency along with seven other senators from both the Democrat and Republican parties that urged the agency to reconsider its proposal to implement more-stringent emissions rules for steel production, which would reduce the amount of harmful toxins released in steel production.43JD Vance et al. “EPA Steel and Supply Chain NESHAP Rules Letter,” December 6, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/Lj9Ij 

The letter’s authors argued that the proposal would be ineffective and “dramatically undermine the domestic steel industry and national security while driving production overseas likely resulting in no net reduction in emissions from the steel industry globally.”44JD Vance et al. “EPA Steel and Supply Chain NESHAP Rules Letter,” December 6, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/Lj9Ij 

The bill did not progress beyond introduction in the Senate. 

November 7, 2023 

Vance wrote to the Environmental Protection Agency officials, pressuring them not to adopt proposed rules to protect steelworkers and communities near steel factories from carcinogenic emissions, claiming that these proposals “would impose new, unnecessarily burdensome requirements on coke production” because they would harm the U.S. economy.45JD Vance. “EPA-HQ-OAR-2002-0085-1523_content-7,” November 7, 2023. Archived September 2, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/EybhP

September 28, 2023 

Vance introduced a senate bill called the “Drive American Act,” which proposed repealing the $7,500 tax credit on electric vehicles introduced in the Inflation Reduction Act in favor of a credit of the same value for gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.46S.2962 – Drive American Act,” Congress.gov, September 28, 2023. Archived July 17, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/WFUMr The act would provide up to $7,500 for a new vehicle, based on the vehicle’s payload and seating capacity, and would apply to individuals earning less than $150,000 or married couples earning less than $300,000. The bill did not progress beyond introduction in the Senate. 

September 14, 2023 

Vance co-sponsored a senate bill titled “Homeowner Energy Freedom Act,” which would “repeal certain provisions relating to taxpayer subsidies for home electrification, and for other purposes,” including incentives to improve energy efficiency in homes.47S.2806 – Homeowner Energy Freedom Act,” Congress.gov, September 14, 2024. Archived September 5, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/hPC94 The bill did not progress beyond introduction in the Senate.

September 14, 2023

Vance sent a letter to President Joe Biden’s office and the Administrator Michael Regan of the Environmental Protection Agency, urging them both to repeal new, more-stringent emissions rules at steelworks, arguing that this “climate agenda poses the future of our nation’s steel production and industrial base.”48JD Vance. “230914-Letter-to-Biden-Regan.pdf,” Vance.senate.gov, September 14, 2023. Archived July 21, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/94hox

June 21, 2023 

Vance supported a senate bill called the “Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act of 2023,” which would reduce the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to allow states to sell combustion engine vehicles that meet emissions standards.49S.2090 – Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act of 2023,” Congress.gov, June 21, 2024. Archived September 5, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/bS6ZN The bill did not progress beyond the Senate. 

March 14, 2023 

Vance co-sponsored a senate bill that would amend the Clean Air Act to repeal the requirement that gasoline sold in the summer ozone season contain a maximum of 10 percent ethanol.50S.785 – Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2023,” Congress.gov, March 14, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/M40V4 This bill did not progress beyond the Senate. 

February 13, 2024 

Vance co-sponsored a senate bill that would ‘protect’ all agricultural products from the need to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions.51S.391 – Protect Farmers from the SEC Act,” Congress.gov, February 13, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/S58pV The bill did not progress beyond the Senate. 

February 2, 2023 

Vance co-sponsored a senate bill titled “Stop Trying to Obsessively Vilify Energy Act” or the “STOVE Act,” prohibiting federal agencies from creating rules that would ban or restrict the use or purchase of appliances fuelled by natural gas.52S.244 – STOVE Act,” Congress.gov, February 2, 2023. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/zDPdi The bill did not progress beyond the Senate. 

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