The Trump administration’s inner circle has expanded to include Second Lady Usha Vance, who reportedly played a key role in reviewing a high-stakes minerals deal with Ukraine earlier this year.
According to ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl’s new book, Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America, Usha was asked by her husband, Vice President J.D. Vance, to review details of the proposed agreement.
The revelation has sparked renewed interest in the Trump-Vance administration’s approach to foreign policy and its tightly controlled inner workings.
Karl claimed the discussion took place in February when President Donald Trump and Vance were considering the Ukrainian minerals proposal. During the meeting, questions reportedly arose about whether the deal had been adequately vetted.
Vance then suggested his wife review the proposal.
Karl wrote that the vice president told Trump, “I can have Usha take a look at it,” according to excerpts shared with Politico.
The book described the scene by noting that the Second Lady, who had no formal role on the National Security Council, was invited to the West Wing to review the agreement, which was scheduled to be signed the next day.
Usha Vance, a Yale-educated attorney, has an extensive legal background, including clerking for the U.S. Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
She previously worked in private practice before entering public life alongside her husband.
The deal never came to fruition after a tense Oval Office meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Vance.
The meeting reportedly derailed the agreement and marked one of the most dramatic diplomatic moments of the administration’s first year.
During the exchange, Vance accused Zelensky of being disrespectful toward Trump, calling him out for interrupting and arguing during the meeting.
“Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance said.
Such remarks went viral across social media.
A White House source told the Daily Mail that officials were caught off guard by Zelensky’s combative attitude.
The source said no one expected the meeting to escalate as it did.
The vice president later defended his stance, pointing to the failure of Biden’s previous approach toward Russia. He noted that Biden “talked tough” for years but failed to prevent Putin’s aggression against Ukraine.
Vance said the Trump administration believes “the path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy.”
Supporters of the administration praised Usha Vance’s quiet involvement, saying it reflects the Trump team’s emphasis on loyalty and trusted expertise.
The White House has not commented on Karl’s claim.
The bombshell revelation in Karl’s book demonstrates that the Trump administration takes an all-hands-on-deck approach to deal with consequential issues.
