Leading Senate Democrat Calls JD Vance 'A Phony' on Child Tax Credit

The Democratic chair of the Senate Finance Committee on Sunday called Sen. JD Vance "a phony" after the Republican vice presidential candidate proposed more than doubling the Child Tax Credit—less than two weeks after skipping a vote on legislation that would have expanded the benefit.

"If JD Vance sincerely gave a whit about working families in America, he would have shown up in the Senate a week and a half ago and voted for my proposal to expand the Child Tax Credit and help 16 million low-income kids get ahead," said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who helped craft the compromise bill that passed the House in February but failed to overcome a GOP filibuster in the Senate earlier this month.

Some members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the upper chamber, voted against the measure because—in addition to boosting the Child Tax Credit (CTC)—it would have extended significant corporate tax breaks, a trade-off aimed at securing Republican votes.

Vance (R-Ohio), a self-proclaimed "pro-family" lawmaker, missed the vote because he was visiting the U.S.-Mexico border. Wyden said Sunday that former President Donald Trump's running mate "didn't even care enough to use his platform to call on his Senate Republican colleagues to support" an expansion of the CTC.

"What kept him away while we were voting? He was busy posing for photos on the southern border—another issue he and Donald Trump pretend to care about while they block real solutions for political gain," said Wyden. "Bottom line, the guy's a phony."

In an interview aired Sunday, Vance told CBS' "Face the Nation" that he supports more than doubling the CTC and eliminating the regressive phase-in that leaves the poorest families ineligible for the program.

Such changes would resemble those enacted in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan (ARP), Democratic legislation that GOP lawmakers unanimously opposed. The measure passed before Vance was elected to the U.S. Senate.

The ARP's expansion of the CTC lapsed at the end of 2021 due to opposition from Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, quickly erasing the brief reduction in child poverty that followed the law's passage.

Earlier this month, Vance falsely claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris—the Democratic presidential nominee—"is calling for an end to the Child Tax Credit." Harris cast the tie-breaking vote that allowed the ARP to advance in the Senate.

Bloomberg noted that Vance "went on three network political talk shows Sunday after a shaky start on the GOP ticket, damaged in part by resurfaced comments in which he belittled Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, as 'childless cat ladies.'"

Harris' campaign has hit back forcefully. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris' running mate, slammed Vance for skipping the CTC expansion vote in a recent social media post.

"In Minnesota, we're cutting poverty and strengthening families with our Child Tax Credit," Walz wrote, referring to a state program that's been described as the most generous in the nation. "You'd think JD Vance would be eager to do the same nationally. Except he skipped a vote to pass the federal Child Tax Credit expansion yesterday. Give me a break with that pro-family talk."