Jacob Reses, the chief of staff to Vice President Vance who has been a constant presence since Vance's Senate campaign, will leave his post at the end of the summer. Reses has held the role since Vance took office alongside President Trump in January 2025.
Vance issued a statement lauding Reses as a steadfast ally. “Jacob’s been by my side for my whole career in public life,” the vice president said. “I can’t imagine having been on this life-changing journey without him.” He added, “From day one of my time as a Senator-elect, I could not have asked for a more loyal and discerning advisor and friend as my chief of staff. I’ll miss him dearly, but he won’t be far, and I plan to keep his counsel close until our paths cross again.”
NBC News first reported the departure, noting that Reses informed Vance of his plans several months ago after his wife announced she was pregnant. Reses previously served as a senior policy adviser for Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and worked at Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of the Heritage Foundation.
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles praised Reses’s tenure. “Jacob has been an important part of our White House leadership team and has served the Vice President with absolute distinction,” she said in a statement. “From diplomacy and war to complicated matters, to the most minute logistics, there has been no task too big or too small for him to tackle.” Wiles herself recently had to dismiss rumors about her own future at the White House, telling reporters, “I am not going anywhere.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also weighed in, saying Reses’s “intellect, leadership and humor will be missed.” Special envoy Steve Witkoff, who worked closely with Reses on foreign negotiations, offered a more colorful tribute. “Don’t let Jacob fool you — beneath his kind exterior he’s a killer,” Witkoff said. “It’s been a delight to get to know him through the Vice President, and our foreign adventures from Israel to Pakistan have been historic.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called Reses “tough, smart, hardworking and loyal,” adding, “I’m excited to see what he does next.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that Reses’s counsel “has been invaluable as we have fought to reshore critical industries and rebalance the economy from debt-driven consumption to production, saving, and investment.”
A source told NBC it wouldn’t be surprising if Reses eventually returns to work for Vance’s office. His immediate future plans remain unclear. The departure comes as Vance has been an active figure in other political developments, including referring Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to the Justice Department for a fraud probe over $300 million in lost funds, and raising questions about mail-in ballot irregularities in the Los Angeles mayoral primary.
