JD Vance’s Secret Service Code Name Unveiled

As the Secret Service continues to face scrutiny and outrage after former President Donald Trump was nearly killed by an assassin’s bullet on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, the agency reportedly has issued a new code name for vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance.

The Republican senator from Ohio is Trump’s running mate as the 45th president hopes to regain the White House.

Vance’s Secret Service code name is “Bobcat,” according to the Daily Mail, citing a friend of Vance’s.

Secret Service code names are given to presidents, vice presidents, first ladies and other high-profile persons under the agency’s protection.

They once had a real cloak-and-dagger purpose to help protect the nation’s top leaders.

But these days, in the era of encrypted technology, the names are largely ceremonial and used for ease of communication in fast, high-pressure situations.

Code names are selected by “sheer whim,” a Secret Service spokesperson once told The Washington Post.

But they do appear to have some connection to the individual’s personal history or heritage. And note the alliteration of code names within families, said to be tradition.

Here’s a look at some known Secret Service code names, as reported by Britannica and other sources.

Bobcat

Vice presidential candidate Vance. “Bobcats” is the nickname for both Ohio University and Breathitt County High School, in Jackson, Kentucky, the family hometown Vance profiled in “Hilbilly Elegy,” his bestselling 2016 memoir.

Capri

First lady Jill Biden, married to Celtic.

Celtic

President Joe Biden. He was Renegade’s vice president when he first earned a code name that pays tribute to his Irish roots.

Dancer

First lady Rosalynn Carter, married to Deacon. Her other code name was Lotus Petal.

Deacon

President Jimmy Carter. It “reflected his deeply religious faith,” noted Britannica.

Eagle

President Bill Clinton. “Some speculated that the code name concerned his association with the Boy Scouts,” said Britannica, given that “Eagle Scout” is the organization’s top rank.

Evergreen

First lady Hillary Clinton, married to Eagle.

Hoosier

Vice President Mike Pence. He hails from Indiana — the Hoosier State.

Hummingbird

Second lady Karen Pence, married to Hoosier.

Lace

First lady Jackie Kennedy. A tribute, apparently, to her elegant style and an alliteration with her husband’s code name.

Lancer

President John F. Kennedy. The “code name was apt, given that his administration was often compared to Camelot … of which Lancelot was a legendary knight,” according to Britannica.

Lyric

Caroline Kennedy. A prophetic nickname: President Kennedy’s daughter was the inspiration for Neil Diamond’s sing-a-long hit, “Sweet Caroline,” written in 1969, six years after her father was assassinated.

Muse

First lady Melania Trump, married to Mogul. Perhaps a tribute to the former model’s inspirational beauty.

Mogul

President Donald Trump. He wanted the code name “Humble,” Britannica said, adding that “the Secret Service opted for something … a little less humble.”

Passkey

President Gerald Ford, who succeeded Nixon.

Pioneer

Vice president Kamala Harris, who reportedly picked the name in August 2020 shortly after, like Vance, she was tapped as a VP candidate.

Rainbow

First lady Nancy Reagan, married to Rawhide.

Rawhide

President Ronald Reagan. Reagan appeared in several westerns and often wore a cowboy hat while campaigning to be governor of California.

Renaissance

First lady Michelle Obama, married to Renegade.

Renegade

President Barack Obama. He “opted for this moniker after being presented with a list of names beginning with the letter ‘R,’” Time magazine reported in 2021.

Searchlight

President Richard Nixon. His Secret Service nickname “is deeply ironic,” Time magazine and others reported, given the Watergate scandal that brought down Nixon’s presidency.

Sunburn

Sen. Ted Kennedy. “The pale, Irish-Catholic New Englander had to suffer this code name” while running for president in 1980, according to Time Magazine.

Tempo

First lady Laura Bush, married to Trailblazer (see two names down).

Timberwolf

President George H.W. Bush. Perhaps the top-dog nickname is an homage to his role as patriarch of a political dynasty.

Trailblazer

President George W. Bush. A “complimentary” code name, Britannica noted.

Tranquility

First lady Barbara Bush and mother of another president. “Snowbank” was apparently an alternate code name for her.

Tumbler

Also used for George W. Bush, when his father Timberwolf was president.