JD Vance called a close ally of influential MAGA podcaster Steve Bannon “a mouth breathing imbecile” after she criticized him for missing a Senate vote to confirm judicial nominees this week.
Grace Chong, chief financial officer and chief operating officer for Bannon’s War Room, encouraged Republicans on X to do everything they could do to block any of outgoing President Joe Biden’s judicial picks for the federal bench. Bannon served in Donald Trump’s first White House and is widely credited with giving him the intellectual framework for the MAGA movement.
“You guys better show up and do your fricken job!!” Chong said in a now-deleted post, tagging both Vance and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who was nominated to be Trump’s secretary of State. The two senators were not present at Monday night’s votes, where Sen. Chuck Schumer pushed through a slate of judges.
Vance quickly responded that “Grace Chong is a mouth breathing imbecile who attacks those of us in the fight rather than make herself useful.” Vance said that, had he shown up at the Senate vote, Republicans still would not have had enough votes to block the vote and pointed out he was busy helping the president-elect interview potential new FBI directors.
“I tend to 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,” said Vance, who has missed most of the Senate’s votes since becoming Trump’s running mate in July. “But that’s just me.”
The exchange on X came after Trump posted on Truth Social that Republicans need to “Show Up and Hold the Line” and prevent the Senate Democratic majority from passing any more judicial nominees before Inauguration Day.
“The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out of the door,” Trump said in the Truth Social post. “Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!”
Soon after the posts were deleted, Vance appeared in the Senate chamber and voted against a federal nominee to a court in Oregon.