JD Vance, the man who wrote a whole book about the dignity of working-class struggle, is apparently finding it difficult to make do with his free 72-acre government mansion and has secured a second home in one of Virginia's most exclusive horse country enclaves. CBS News confirmed the arrangement Thursday, citing two senior law enforcement officials who noted the Secret Service is already busy setting up security at the rental property in Middleburg, Virginia. Forty miles from Washington, roughly the same distance between Vance's stated values and his current lifestyle.
Yes, This Is On Top Of The Mansion He Already Has For Free
Let's be precise about what we're talking about here. The official vice presidential residence is 1 Observatory Circle, a 72-acre property in the heart of Washington D.C. that the federal government maintains, staffs, and secures entirely at taxpayer expense. Vance and his family moved in after the inauguration. Since then, according to CBS News, they've already upgraded the place, adding a new fence around the property and, yes, a chicken coop.
The Middleburg rental is described by sources familiar with the decision as supplementing, not replacing, the Naval Observatory residence. So to be clear: Vance keeps the 72-acre mansion. He just also wants a country house. In horse country. Where the Kennedys used to vacation.
Middleburg, For Those Who Don't Summer There
Middleburg, Virginia is not a place where regular people rent weekend getaways. It's a town defined by fox hunting, equestrian estates, and the kind of generational wealth that treats a forty-mile drive from the capital as a reasonable commute to your second property. CBS News points out that John F. Kennedy and Jackie built their Wexford retreat near the town, and that Ronald and Nancy Reagan rented an estate there during the 1980 campaign.
So Vance is keeping distinguished company, historically speaking. The question is whether his base, the people who genuinely believed he was one of them, notices that their guy is now living a lifestyle that makes the Kennedys look relatable.
The Secret Service Gets To Secure Two Homes Now
NBC News first reported that the Vance family was considering the Middleburg lease. CBS News followed with confirmation from two senior law enforcement officials, who noted the Secret Service is already providing security measures for the additional residence. That's not a small thing. Securing a second private property for a vice president requires agents, logistics, communication infrastructure, and ongoing operational costs that don't show up in any line item Vance will ever have to explain to a voter.
The Secret Service's resources are not infinite. The agency has faced staffing challenges and budget pressures for years. But sure, let's get those agents out to the Virginia countryside to make sure the Vice President's rental property is properly swept.
A Fourth Child On The Way, For What It's Worth
CBS News reports that Vance and his wife Usha are expecting their fourth child this summer, which the outlet mentions in the same breath as the Middleburg news. The implication, one assumes, is that a growing family might explain the need for more space. This is a reasonable thing to think for about four seconds before you remember that the existing free residence sits on 72 acres in Washington D.C.
Three children, soon to be four, living on 72 acres with a brand new fence and a fresh chicken coop, and the family still needs a second property. At some point the math just becomes a vibe.
The Dingo Take
Here's what's actually corrosive about this story. It's not that JD Vance wants a nicer life. People want nicer lives. It's that Vance built his entire political identity on the idea that he understood something the coastal elite didn't, that he came from poverty in Appalachian Ohio, that he knew what it felt like to watch a community get hollowed out while politicians ignored it. That was the pitch. That was the book. That was the Senate campaign and the VP audition and every Tucker Carlson appearance rolled into one.
And now he is the Vice President of the United States, living rent-free on a 72-acre federal estate, adding chicken coops as one does, and renting a second home in the same Virginia hunt country where Jackie Kennedy used to ride horses. The Secret Service is setting up at both locations. This is the man who is supposed to speak for the forgotten American.
The forgotten American, for reference, cannot afford one home right now. Mortgage rates are brutal, rent is brutal, and the administration Vance serves has spent 2025 doing essentially nothing to address either. But the chicken coop at the Naval Observatory is reportedly very nice.
