JD Vance: Trump would appoint a Democrat to Cabinet

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) said Friday that former President Trump would have a role for a Democrat in his Cabinet if he wins in November, following a similar pledge by Vice President Harris to appoint a Republican if she were to win.

“We actually got a lot of great Democratic support, we just got RFK [Jr.], of course, Tulsi Gabbard, who endorsed the president in just the last couple of days,” Vance said Friday during an interview on “Fox and Friends,” referring to recent endorsements of Trump from Kennedy and Gabbard, the former House member from Hawaii who left the Democratic Party in 2022. 

Vance’s comments came shortly after Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, said during her first sit-down interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Thursday that she would look to appoint a Republican to a Cabinet position if she wins the election.

“I think it’s important to have people at the table — when some of the most important decisions are being made — that have different views, different experiences,” Harris said, while not naming a specific individual. “And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who was a Republican.”

Presidents have previously appointed members of the opposing party in a show of unity or kept certain holdovers from prior administrations.

Former President Obama had several Republicans in his administration, including keeping Robert Gates as Defense secretary and tapping former Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) for Transportation secretary. Trump kept on Robert Work, an Obama appointee, as deputy Defense secretary early in his administration before a new nominee was confirmed.

Vance, whom Trump tapped to be his running mate in mid-July, argued Trump appeals to a variety of voters, even if they do not agree on all of his policy proposals.

“If you look at the Trump movement in 2024, it’s actually the common sense big tent movement in American politics,” Vance said. “We don’t agree on everything. Of course, not everybody who votes for Donald Trump is going to agree with every policy issue, but we agree on the basics.”  

“We agree that American energy prices should be lower. We agree that we should be making more of our own stuff in the United States of America,” he continued. “We agree that we should close down the border and stop the flow of illegal drugs and trafficking into our country. It’s just the basic common sense stuff.” 

In late February, months before joining the Republican ticket, Vance offered praise for Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, saying she is one of the rare Biden administration members “doing a pretty good job.” He referenced Khan’s work on antitrust enforcement, especially when it came to tech giants.