Jacob Reses, the longtime chief of staff to Vice President JD Vance, will depart the Trump administration at the end of the summer, a source familiar with the matter confirms to Jewish Insider.

Reses, 35, became a confidante to Vance in 2021, advising the vice president through the heated primary and general election contests for the Ohio Senate seat Vance briefly held before being tapped by President Donald Trump as his running mate in 2024. Vance named Reses his chief of staff immediately after winning the Senate race. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who had employed Reses as a senior advisor in his Senate office, was among those who encouraged Vance to pick Reses as his chief at the time, according to two sources familiar with the matter. 

News of his departure was first reported by NBC News.

Reses has not announced what his next role will be, though he informed the vice president of his plans to leave several months ago, after learning he and his wife were expecting their first child. He married Rachel Altman, the director of outreach at the Foundation for American Innovation, a tech think tank, in January. A source in the vice president’s office suggested to JI that Reses could rejoin the team at some point down the line, but did not elaborate beyond noting that it would come as no surprise if that occurred. 

“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,” Vance said in a statement. “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.”

Other senior Trump administration officials similarly surmised that Reses would remain close.

“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,” White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement. “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.”

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said in a statement that Reses “will always be a friend and ally we can all rely upon and I hope will come back often.”

“Jacob has been an important part of our White House leadership team and has served the Vice President with absolute distinction. 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,” Wiles said. “It has been a privilege to have a partner like Jacob in the vice president’s office with such humility, discretion, and loyalty. He will be missed in the halls of the West Wing, but he will always be a friend and ally we can all rely upon and I hope will come back often.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described Reses as “tough, smart, hardworking, and loyal – the perfect combination to succeed in the Trump White House.” 

“I’ll always appreciate his ability to give wise and honest counsel, and you’ll never meet anyone more focused on putting the team first,” Blanche said. “I’m grateful to have had Jacob as a colleague, and while I’m going to miss working with him to advance the president’s agenda, I’m excited to see what he does next.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also praised Reses and said he would be missed in the administration.

“When I met Jacob over dinner shortly before the Republican convention, I had no idea we would be such close partners in the years to come,” Bessent said. “His counsel to me and to the vice president has been invaluable as we have fought to reshore critical industries and rebalance the economy from debt-driven consumption to production, saving, and investment. We will miss him enormously.”

“Jacob has served the vice president and the entire administration with distinction. He understands the moment we’re in and he spent every day fighting to deliver results for the president,” Rubio’s statement read. “His intellect, leadership, and humor will be missed.”

Reses has worked with a number of prominent figures in the MAGA political movement besides Vance and Hawley, such as Tucker Carlson, Stephen Miller, Russell Vought and Michael Needham, as well as Heritage Action, an affiliate of the conservative Heritage Foundation.