WSJ: The AWOL Vice-President

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Republicans were eagerly awaiting their Tuesday meeting with Vice President JD Vance, hoping he’d break Congress’s gridlock. They instead were notified of a scheduling conflict as Air Force Two winged to Texas. Wednesday was spent watching Mr. Vance on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” where he bashed the Senate for its “procedural bulls—.”

The vice president is taking flak for his failed Iran negotiations, but a different criticism has reached full boil in Washington. The House is down to 20 legislative days before the midterms; the Senate to 30. The list of unfinished business is overwhelming. A reconciliation bill. Appropriations. Annual defense policy legislation. An Iran supplemental funding bill. FISA, permitting, online safety, aviation reform, farm and highway bills.

Every item is mired in internal arguments over priorities and strategy. President Trump’s time is splintered between a war and dozens of competing domestic demands and pet objectives. Congress is crying out for a dedicated White House ambassador—someone who can be trusted to speak for the president, to yea or nay ideas, to shuttle proposals, to wrangle rebels in line.

Mr. Vance is promoting a book.

The vice president’s job can be unenviable, but it’s unique in one way: It’s the only top position with responsibilities across two branches of government. The vice president is part of the White House team, but he’s also president of the Senate. Modern vice presidents have leaned into the latter role, especially those who came out of Congress. Walter Mondale pioneered the liaison job, bridging the gap between the outsider President Jimmy Carter, and Mondale’s former congressional colleagues. Dick Cheney, once House minority whip, held weekly policy luncheons with Senate Republicans in the Capitol. Joe Biden used decades of congressional experience to land deals that eluded other White House staff. Mike Pence—previously House Republican Conference chairman—practically camped out on the Hill during key policy debates like the 2017 tax reform.

By contrast, lawmakers can count on a few fingers the times former Sen. Vance has set foot in the Capitol. As they twist in the legislative winds, they glimpse him mainly on his TV and podcast book tour— “Real Time With Bill Maher,” “CBS News Sunday Morning,” Fox News, even ABC’s “The View.” Or he’s in Switzerland leading fruitless Iran negotiations. The anger has only grown over Mr. Vance’s decision to position himself as scolder of the body over which he constitutionally presides, rather than showing up for the work.

“As we approach incredibly consequential midterms for this nation and this presidency, Senate Republicans are pretty confused as to why the president of the Senate is actively criticizing the GOP, while also being absent from his Senate duties,” one Republican senator tells me.

Members feel that this is an absence that’s particularly derelict—given circumstances and timing. This GOP Congress had a productive first year, managing to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, confirm nominations in record time, and use the Congressional Review Act to roll back Biden regulations. That productivity was thanks to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who kept communication flowing and the train on the tracks.

But she is now undergoing breast-cancer treatment, and it has left a real gap. The White House’s Office of Legislative Affairs is no replacement. It’s capable but doesn’t speak for the boss—who himself has no legislative experience and has of late rubbed lawmakers the wrong way. Communication has devolved into a game of “Trump telephone”—in which whatever member last snagged two cellphone minutes with the president rushes to read the tea leaves to colleagues. This breakdown is an enormous factor in Congress’s unfocused 2026.

It’s a crucial moment. Midterms are coming, and Republicans are concerned the Democrats will shut down the government in October and blame it on the GOP. Republicans still hold a trifecta, meaning they can notch real victories. Yet the House is down to a minuscule majority, and Senate Republicans are handicapped by the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham and the hospitalization of Sen. Mitch McConnell. Never have they more needed an empowered White House bridge to hammer out a basic political strategy.

The glaringly obvious candidate is Mr. Vance. He was in the Senate less than two years ago. He is—by his reports—trusted by the president. Yet he’s nowhere. Members hugely appreciate frequent visits from energetic cabinet members—notably Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. But it only further highlights the vice president’s lack of interest, and it fuels criticism that Mr. Vance is putting his presidential ambitions ahead of a GOP Congress’s success. Worse, that he is bashing his own party to win praise from online influencers.

What experienced legislators wish the newbie Mr. Vance would understand is that his résumé polishing is doing no one any favors—not the party, not the president, not even himself. The midterms—and the 2028 presidential election—will rest on the GOP’s governing record. This year is fading, and Mr. Vance, should he become the nominee, will own any failures. Now might be a good time for the Senate president to show up at the Senate.

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