Usha and JD Vance Host Night at the Museum With Trump’s Cabinet Selections
- Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife Usha hosted a private dinner for President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet, with Vance wearing a tuxedo and Usha in a custom black velvet strapless Oscar de la Renta gown.
Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife Usha were dressed to the nines Saturday night to host the private dinner for President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet.
Keeping with the dress code for the black-tie affair, the former U.S. senator for Ohio and "Hillbilly Elegy" author sported a tuxedo and his wife, a former corporate lawyer, accompanied him in a custom noir black velvet strapless Oscar de la Renta gown with asymmetrical floral accents and a sweetheart neckline. Trump's pick for Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick put a different spin on black tie by wearing a black and white printed necktie with a white shirt and black suit. He was photographed sharing a laugh with Pete Hegseth, the president-elect's choice for Secretary of Defense and former Fox News commentator, who spent much of last week being questioned by senators in a confirmation hearing. Lutnick, the former head of Cantor Fitzgerald, also was pictured looking all smiles with Trump's selection for Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
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Lori Chavez-DeRemer, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump 's pick for Labor Secretary, interacts with Howard Lutnick, Trump's pick for Secretary of Commerce.
Like Lutnick, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services, went with attire that was not your standard prom or wedding tux by sporting a two-tone jacket with a white tuxedo shirt that had black piping and black buttons. He accented the suited look with a white pocket scarf. His actress wife, Cheryl Hines , of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" fame, wore a feathery black off-the-shoulder ensemble. Kristi Noem, Trump's choice for Secretary of Homeland Security, sported a black strapless dress and a single strand of sizable pearls.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services, and his wife Cheryl Hines at the National Gallery of Art.
The Trump-Vance inauguration committee organized the fundraising dinner at the National Gallery of Art in advance of Trump's second inauguration. All of Trump's 24 Cabinet picks — of which seven are women — posed for a group photo in the museum.
The president-elect's selections for his cabinet posed fora group photo Saturday night.
The Washington, D.C., museum has its own Cabinet connection. The financier and art collector, Andrew W. Mellon, who served as Treasury Secretary under four presidents from 1921 to 1932, conceived of and gave the National Gallery of Art.
John Singer Sargent, "Madame X," 1883-84. Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1916
As for whether Vance's black velvet strapless dress could have been inspired by John Singer Sargent's famous painting "Madame X," Jean Strouse, author of "Family Romance: John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers," was not convinced, aside from the fact both frocks are full-length black dresses. "The bust line of the 'Madame X' dress is very different. The waist is much narrower and there are straps, though one was slipping off the shoulder in the original portait," Strouse said via email Sunday. "And I don't think there was a side slit in the skirt."
Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance attend at the National Gallery of Art.
Dressing for the occasion, the vice president-elect was far more formal than normal. Recognizable for his finely trimmed beard, Vance, who has three children with his wife, entered politics in 2021 and was elected to the Senate in 2022. He often sports traditional single-breasted suits with neckties in navy or gray that he reportedly buys from an Italian custom tailor in Cincinnati. Pundits and social media posters have noted how Vance has stepped up his attire in recent weeks and appeared to have lost some weight.
While the Vance dinner was in full swing Saturday night, the former and future president and his wife Melania attended a reception and fireworks display at the Trump National Gold Club in Potomac Falls, Va., with a few hundred supporters. Her arrival look was far from black tie — an extra-roomy Dior gray coat and a white Baroque-inspired Dolce & Gabbana pantsuit.
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