Vice President JD Vance is doing what every DC politician eventually does: pretending to escape Washington by moving to a horse farm that is still only an hour away from Washington. The Vance family is leasing part of Wolver Hill Farm, a historic property spanning nearly 500 acres near Middleburg, Virginia, according to a new report. The property will serve as an additional residence, primarily for his wife Usha and their three kids, while the family keeps their official digs at the Naval Observatory.
So yes, the Vice President of the United States now has a country home AND a city home, which is the political equivalent of having a work email and a personal email except both cost significantly more than your annual salary.
The idea here is to give the family "a greater sense of normalcy" outside the constant scrutiny of life in the capital. Because nothing says normal like living on a 500 acre historic estate in one of Virginia's most affluent enclaves. The town of Middleburg has fewer than 1,000 residents, which means the Vance kids will triple the local youth population.
The farm is owned by a firm led by Charles Kuhn, who founded a moving company that has literally moved presidents into and out of the White House, including Donald Trump. Kuhn's company is also a longtime government contractor, and the man himself has become one of Virginia's biggest landholders and a major player in the state's data center industry. Last November, one of his companies reportedly sold a nearly 100 acre parcel to a data center investor for $615 million. So we are not exactly dealing with a guy who rents out rooms on Craigslist.
Vance's personal attorney, Chris Ashby, said the vice president plans to pay fair market value. "The rent will be at fair market value, determined with reference to the rent for comparable properties in the area," Ashby said. Kuhn did not respond to a request for comment, presumably because he was busy counting the proceeds from that $615 million land sale.
Middleburg has a long history as the preferred escape hatch for the political class. JFK once owned an estate in the area. Ronald Reagan rented a home nearby during his 1980 campaign. It is basically the Hamptons for people who wear boots instead of boat shoes.
The Washington Business Journal first reported that Vance was leasing part of Kuhn's property.
For the Vance family, this is about as surprising as a politician kissing a baby. You get elected, you move into the official residence, and then you immediately start looking for somewhere quieter to spend your weekends. It is a tradition as old as the republic itself. The only real question is whether the Vances will get horses. Because you do not move to Middleburg horse country without at least considering horses. That is like moving to Wisconsin and refusing cheese.
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