JD Vance is officially a party crasher.
The vice president was a surprise guest at a private dinner hosted by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the New York Times reported Sunday. The 41-year-old tagged along as a plus-one to his pregnant wife, Usha Vance, who previously clerked for the George W. Bush appointee.
Roberts, however, appeared indifferent to the unexpected addition. According to the Times, neither Vance nor his wife received special seating accommodations, and the chief justice omitted the vice president from remarks delivered during the evening.
The White House and a SCOTUS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While sources told the Times that Vance’s appearance at the 100-guest event was purely social, the timing is nonetheless awkward. His boss, Donald Trump, has frequently raged over the judiciary’s resistance to some of his most aggressive executive actions. Just last week, the president warned that it would be a “disgrace” if the conservative-dominated court ruled against his bid to end birthright citizenship for millions of Americans.
“Birthright citizen is done by no other country, no other country in the world the way we’re doing it—we’re a laughing stock,” Trump said, ignoring the fact that dozens of countries confer citizenship at birth with no conditions.
“And if the Supreme Court approves that decision, they have done a great disservice to the United States of America.”
On a more personal level, Trump has also taken aim at Roberts. In February, the president blasted the court over its 6-3 ruling striking down his signature tariff policy, describing the judges who voted against him as “lap dogs,” a “disgrace to our nation” and “disloyal to the Constitution.”
“I’m ashamed of certain members of the Court—absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” he said.
Roberts was one of three conservative justices—alongside Trump appointees Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch—who ruled against the tariffs, undercutting one of Trump’s biggest tools to reshape U.S. trade and exert pressure on other countries.
The 71-year-old, for his part, has pushed back on the president and his allies. In March, he took a thinly veiled swipe at Trump and his escalating attacks on the judiciary.
“Judges around the country work very hard to get it right, and if they don’t, their opinions are subject to criticism,” he said.
“But personally directed hostility is dangerous, and it’s got to stop.”
Even Vance, a loyal Trump attack dog, has joined in on the criticism. Last year, the vice president told the Times that Roberts was “profoundly wrong” to view his role as overseer of the nation’s highest court as including checks on executive power.
Perhaps that’s why the vice president ended up as little more than a forgettable plus-one.
