Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, are celebrating the arrival of their fourth child together.

The couple announced on Sunday that they had welcomed a baby boy named Alec Neel Vance, who joins older siblings Ewan, 9, Vivek, 6, and Mirabel, 4.

Sharing the happy news in a joint statement on social media, the proud parents wrote: “We are excited to announce that our baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning. Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother.”

The couple also thanked the doctors and medical staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the White House medical team for their care throughout the birth.

The arrival of baby Alec is significant beyond the Vance family’s personal celebrations.

The newborn is the first child born to a sitting vice president in more than 150 years, making the birth a rare moment in American political history.

According to the White House Historical Association, the last sitting vice president to welcome a child while in office was Schuyler Colfax, whose son was born in 1870. Before that, Vice President John C. Calhoun welcomed a son during his tenure in 1829.

JD, 41, and Usha, 40, announced they were expecting their fourth child in January. Throughout the pregnancy, the second lady continued to accompany her husband on official engagements and launched her children’s video podcast, Storytime with the Second Lady.

She also found herself at the centre of an unexpected fashion debate after The New York Times highlighted the affordable coral maternity dress she wore during one episode.

Usha later revealed the dress had been purchased from Old Navy for just $8.75, joking on social media: “Now that we know the political significance of my $8.75 coral maternity dress from Old Navy, can’t wait to hear what The New York Times has to say about my elastic-waistband pants and compression socks!”

Her husband praised her bargain-buying skills, quipping: “She bought a $50 dress for $8.75. America: meet your next director of the federal budget!”

The vice president has frequently spoken about the importance of family and has made encouraging higher birth rates a recurring theme throughout his political career.

The Vance children have often accompanied their parents on official overseas trips, with photographs of the youngsters boarding Air Force Two in their pyjamas delighting royal and political watchers alike.

JD has also revealed that conversations with Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, helped prompt discussions about expanding their family following Kirk’s death last year.

Speaking in a joint interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Usha explained: “It was very powerful, what Erika said about her own family, and certainly very moving to both of us. I think I had already started to open my mind to the possibility.

“I wouldn’t say that this was, for me in any way, the decisive factor. But it came in the middle of a conversation that we were already having.”

The newest addition to the Vance family also arrives during something of a baby boom within President Donald Trump’s administration, following recent births in the families of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.