Vice President-elect JD Vance lambasted a Trump ally who called him out on social media for his absence in the Senate and inadvertently revealed what he and President-elect Donald Trump were really up to.
Grace Chong, the CFO and CEO of Steve Bannon's alt-right War Room podcast, was furious that Vance and a handful of other GOP members were skipping votes as Democrats confirmed many of President Joe Biden's federal judges before they lose control in the Senate.
After the Senate confirmed one of Biden's judges without much resistance from the GOP, Chong lashed out at Vance and Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Trump's pick for Secretary of State.
Chong took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote in a now-deleted post:
"You guys better show up and do your one fricken job!!"
"@JDVance @marcorubio and the rest of you Senate Republicans that didn’t bother to show up yesterday."
Vance retaliated with a tweet railing against Chong, calling her a "mouth breathing imbecile," and explained that even if he did show up, Republicans still wouldn't have had enough votes to block appeals court nominee Embry Kidd, whom Chong was referring to.
Steve Bannon’s War Room CFO Grace Chong ripped JD Vance for missing the vote on the 11th Circuit judge. Vance responded that Chong is “a mouth breathing imbecile who attacks those of us in the fight rather than make herself useful.” Trump unity! And that's not all you missed today...👇
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— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 4:50 PM
The VP-elect ,who is still the Ohio Senator, fumed:
"Grace Chong is a mouth breathing imbecile who attacks those of us in the fight rather than make herself useful."
"If I had shown up to the vote in question, the nominee would have succeeded 49-46 rather than 49-45."
"If every Republican had showed up, Fetterman would have come in and the Democrats still would have gotten their nominee across."
During his rant, he inadvertently revealed he and Trump's teams were looking to replace current FBI director Christopher Wray, whose term isn't up until 2027.
The tweet has since been deleted.
Vance wrote:
“When this 11th Circuit vote happened, I was meeting with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI director."
“I think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45."
He concluded with, "But that’s just me.”
You can see a screenshot of the deleted tweet here.
@JDVance/X
The disappearing tweet confirmed speculation that Trump, who appointed Wray for a ten-year term in 2017 after firing James Comey, was looking to replace him after Wray failed to demonstrate his loyalty to Trump.
Before he left the Oval Office in 2021, Trump had publicly criticized Wray and slammed the FBI, especially for raiding Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in search of classified documents.
Wray's statements slamming Trump's characterization of the January 6th insurrectionists as "hostages" and "unbelievable patriots" also proved the two don't see eye-to-eye.
“I see the defendants in the January 6 cases as criminal defendants who are being charged with federal crimes and are in front of independent courts as part of our legal system,” said the former Trump ally.
Social media users weighed in after Vance's loose lips exposed Trump's plot.
If you thought Trump was gonna let him stay in that position after they executed a search warrant on Maralago you don't know Trump. Project 2025 says only Trump loyalists allowed.
— Alpaca Tech (@alpacatech.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 3:56 PM
Of course, they are. They want to turn the FBI into their Gestapo.
— @SheltieRes.bsky.social (@sheltieres.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 3:50 PM
I mean, he fired Comey.
— MarcyRW (@marcyrw.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 3:47 PM
This wouldn’t exactly be shocking.
— Woke Senator (@wokemitt.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 3:47 PM
People were shaking their heads at Vance's tirade.
The way we're supposed to expect and normalize one of our elected officials to speak like that about someone. 😒
— Lady (@dollwhiskerreads.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 12:01 PM
Vance’s name calling is just as childish as when Trump does it. They’re an embarrassment and have no idea how to act with decorum.
— 𝕊𝕡𝕠𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕖ℕ𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖 (@spoonienurse.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 2:40 PM
When I read that all I could think was waaaaaaaaaaa! Is that all those people can do is whine? Good Lord it gets so old. They are like toddlers. If things don't go their way or they are reprimanded they pitch their little whine fits.
— Je M'appelle Michelle (@chelliede2003.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 5:50 PM
I see he’s picked up on trump’s insults.
— Charlie Girl (@charliegirl.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 1:45 PM
How civilized of J.D. Just what I expected from him.
— tulip rose (@tuliprose33.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 1:25 PM
Have you ever noticed how the MAGA lemmings always resort to name calling just like little kids?
— Margaret Spires (@usmcwizard.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 12:51 PM
This is what will be sitting in the WH next to Trump who lives on these kinds of insults. America is the laughingstock of the world
— leejcaroll.bsky.social (@leejcaroll.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 12:15 PM
Jesus, even his tweets are sweaty.
— Tori IRL 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 (@tori-irl.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 12:05 PM
Others just grabbed some popcorn.
Love the infighting
— Chester 🏳️⚧️🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@8-k.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 12:43 PM
@ffacevonfstick.bksy.social/Bluesky
Trump indirectly reprimanded Vance by berating absent GOP Senators for not doing their part in preventing Democrats from confirming more of Biden's judges.
“The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out the door," Trump wailed on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, adding:
“Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!”
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
After his clash with Chong, Vance returned to the Senate chamber and voted against federal nominee Mustafa Kasubha as a district judge for the District of Oregon.
The Senate ultimately voted 51-44 to confirm Kasubha.