Usha Vance's Inaugural Mass Accessory Distracts From Boxy Frock With Its Potential MAGA Nod

Usha Vance blended into the crowd at Pope Leo XIV's inauguration mass in a black midi-length sheath dress. Its fit was modest, with an attached capelet providing extra coverage, but Usha's accessory choice is what signaled that she might be fully embracing the trad wife lifestyle championed by some on the right.

Over her hair, Usha wore a black lace veil, or mantilla. According to ARC, some Catholic women have started sporting the traditional head covering in an effort to conform to outdated gender stereotypes. The second lady was being a dutiful conservative wife at the Vatican by dressing a bit frumpy and even engaging in some awkward PDA with JD Vance while seated in the pews. And JD's feelings about gender roles are no secret; in an interview with Tucker Carlson, he wrote off women who don't have kids as woebegone "childless cat ladies" who don't deserve a say in America's future (via Ron Filipkowski on X). JD has also criticized women who work rather than being housewives and mothers, saying on the "Moment of Truth" podcast, "That is actually a path to misery."

Usha has played her role in JD's vision for American women perfectly. She's a Yale graduate who once lived the life of the ambitious women he scoffs at, but the attorney eventually became a working mother — and then just a mother. When Donald Trump chose JD as his running mate in 2024, Usha announced she was leaving the San Francisco law firm where she worked as a corporate litigator. "I have resigned from my position at Munger, Tolles & Olson to focus on caring for our family," she told People. The veil is just the latest sign that she's conforming to her husband's worldview, but there's still one more step she could take.

Usha Vance possibly dealt those pesky divorce rumors a blow by wearing that veil, as it's a visual representation of how she's mostly in lockstep with her husband. However, one of the weird things about Usha and JD Vance's marriage is that she is not Catholic like her husband. In 2024, JD told The New York Times that Usha, who comes from a Hindu family, did not convert to Catholicism when he did. However, she did start tagging along when he went to church. "I felt kind of bad about it, right? Like, you didn't sign up for a weekly churchgoer. I feel terrible for my wife because we go to church almost every Sunday," he confessed.

Some netizens are convinced that Usha's decision to wear a mantilla might demonstrate a willingness to make another big change for her husband's sake. "Usha Vance is wearing a veil. I predict she converts by the end of JD's tenure as VP," one X user wrote. Another observed that Usha appeared just as excited to meet Pope Leo XIV as her husband, even though JD found himself in hot water with the new pope before the inauguration mass. Meanwhile, the Irish Star consulted body language expert Caroline Goyder on Usha's veiling, and she said, "Opting for a mantilla, despite not being Catholic herself, shows a deep respect both of the event and to its importance to Catholics, like her husband."

So, even if Usha does not convert to Catholicism, the veil could still speak volumes about what's going on in her life. The Daily Beast reported that Usha once supported Hillary Clinton, but these days, she's making her allegiance to the MAGA movement — and her husband — as obvious as possible.