Jacob Reses, the chief of staff who has been at Vice President JD Vance's side since his 2022 Ohio Senate campaign, will leave the Trump administration at the end of the summer, people close to the vice president's office told NBC News. Reses informed Vance of his plans several months ago, after his wife became pregnant with their first child.
The departure marks the loss of Vance's most trusted operational hand, a staffer who predates the vice presidency, predates the 2024 campaign, and whose relationship with Vance stretches back to the beginning of his political career. It also adds to a string of recent staff changes inside the vice president's office that, while individually unremarkable, collectively raise the question of who will fill the inner circle as Vance's profile, and his 2028 ambitions, continue to grow.
Reses first built his close working relationship with Vance during the 2022 Senate race in Ohio. Before that, he worked for Heritage Action, an affiliate of the conservative Heritage Foundation, and for Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. That background gave Reses deep roots in the conservative policy world before he ever joined Vance's orbit.
When President Trump tapped Vance as his running mate in 2024, Reses became a constant presence on the campaign plane. He followed Vance into the White House in January 2025 and has served as chief of staff since inauguration day.
The bond between the two men runs well beyond the professional. Vance offered a toast at Reses' wedding in January, a detail confirmed by a source close to the vice president. Reses, for his part, has long been known for a low-key stature and an aversion to the press, the kind of staffer who works the room without working the cameras.
The volume and caliber of the tributes Reses drew from senior officials tell you something about how he operated. Vance shared a statement first with NBC News:
"Jacob's been by my side for my whole career in public life. I can't imagine having been on this life-changing journey without him. 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."
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles called Reses "an important part of our White House leadership team" who "served the Vice President with absolute distinction." She added a telling line about the scope of his work:
"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."
That range, from high-stakes foreign policy to the grinding daily logistics of a vice president's schedule, is what separates a chief of staff from a political adviser. Reses apparently handled both.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Reses' "intellect, leadership, and humor will be missed." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described Reses as having "been invaluable as we have fought to reshore critical industries and rebalance the economy from debt-driven consumption to production, saving, and investment." Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called him "tough, smart, hardworking, and loyal, the perfect combination to succeed in the Trump White House."
Perhaps the most revealing tribute came from Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration's special envoy to the Middle East, who alluded to Reses' quiet demeanor and press-shy reputation:
"Don't let Jacob fool you, beneath his kind exterior he's a killer. 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. He commands respect in every room he walks into, and I've been proud to have him by my side in negotiating some of the toughest deals for the President. We haven't seen the last of him."
That last line, "We haven't seen the last of him", echoed a broader sentiment. A source close to Vance said it would not be a surprise if Reses returns to the vice president's office at some point.
Reses is not the only senior departure. Sean Cooksey, Vance's top lawyer, left in February for a lobbying and public affairs firm. Vance has also cycled through two deputy chiefs of staff. The pattern of movement inside the office is worth watching, even if individual departures have clear personal explanations.
Reses' future job plans were not immediately known. His reason for leaving, the arrival of a first child, is about as straightforward as it gets in Washington, a city where "spending more time with my family" is usually code for something else. In this case, the timeline fits. Reses told Vance months ago. The baby is on the way. The exit is planned, not abrupt.
Vance, for his part, has kept much of his core team from the 2022 Senate campaign intact across his White House staff and his collection of outside advisers. That continuity has been a quiet asset. Losing the man who anchored it will test whether the operation holds its shape.
The departure lands at a moment when Vance's political future is an open subject. Both Vance and Rubio are seen as potential 2028 presidential contenders. A vice president building toward a national campaign needs a chief of staff who knows the policy, the politics, and the principal. Reses checked all three boxes.
Whoever replaces him will inherit a complex portfolio. Wiles' tribute pointed to diplomacy, wartime decisions, and daily logistics. Witkoff placed Reses at the table for negotiations stretching from Israel to Pakistan. Bessent credited him with helping drive the administration's economic agenda on reshoring and rebalancing trade. That is not a job description you fill with a résumé and a handshake.
No replacement has been named. The administration has not indicated a timeline for selecting one.
Staff departures eighteen months into an administration are normal. People burn out. Families grow. Opportunities arise. The question is always whether a departure signals friction or simply reflects the punishing pace of White House life.
Nothing in the public record suggests friction here. The tributes from Wiles, Rubio, Bessent, Blanche, and Witkoff read like genuine praise from colleagues who worked closely with Reses across agencies and across continents. Vance's own statement carried a personal warmth that went beyond the usual boilerplate.
The real test comes next. Vance built his political operation around a small, loyal team that followed him from Ohio to the campaign trail to the West Wing. That model works, until the people who make it work move on.
In Washington, the hardest thing to replace isn't talent. It's trust.
