JD Vance tries $5,000 expanded child tax credit proposal to secure support from pro-family crowd

Senator JD Vance talks to a child at a rally in Arizona.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty

• Senator JD Vance proposed a $5,000 child tax credit on Sunday.
• The vice presidential candidate wants to position the GOP as the party with pro-family policies.
• But Vance missed a Senate vote in early August on expanding the child tax credit.

Senator JD Vance could use an image intensifier.

Since becoming former President Donald Trump’s pick for vice president, the Ohio Republican has been dogged by some controversial past comments.

From previously calling himself “a never-Trump guy” to disparaging several top Democratic Party leaders as “childless cat ladies,” he has repeatedly had to address remarks that have raised eyebrows.

Amid his continued effort to cement his image as pro-family (but not in a “weird” way), Vance offered a generous $5,000 child tax credit on Sunday during an interview on “Face the Nation ” from CBS.

“I would like to see a child tax credit of $5,000 per child. But of course you have to work with Congress to see how feasible and viable that is,” Vance told host Margaret Brennan.

Vance is working to position the GOP as the party that would do more to help families. And with most voters continuing to rate the economy as their top issue heading into the general election, the child tax credit remains a top issue for many Washington lawmakers.

The current child tax credit allows up to $2,000 per child.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Congress expanded that amount to an annual credit of $3,000 to $3,600, depending on the child’s age, but Republicans let that provision expire at the end of 2021.

There is bipartisan support for an expanded credit in the House. But the Senate — with a slim 51-seat Democratic majority and 60 votes needed to break a filibuster — has stalled any meaningful progress on the issue.

In early August, the Senate voted 48-44 on the expanded child tax measure, meaning it did not advance. Vance missed that vote.

While on CBS, the Ohioan referred to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s legislative move as a “show vote,” saying it simply doesn’t have enough support to pass regardless of his presence.

The absence will likely help Democrats push the issue before the election as the party seeks to hold the White House, retain the Senate and flip the House.