Ending months of speculation surrounding who might serve as his running mate, former President Donald Trump has announced he will pick Ohio’s U.S. Sen. JD Vance to join the race for the White House.

The announcement came shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday, as the delegate members of the Republican National Convention held a roll-call vote to officially nominate Trump as their presidential candidate for the third time running.

Vance was selected, according to Trump, after “lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others” and because Trump thinks he’s “the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States.”

The Ohio Senator, Trump noted, served as an enlisted member of the U.S. Marine Corps and was a Summa Cum Laude graduate of the Ohio State University and Yale Law School. His book, HIllbilly Elegy, “became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country.”

“J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform, capitalization his.

According to the 45th President, a Vice President Vance will “continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”

“Congratulations to Senator J.D. Vance, his wife, Usha, who also graduated from Yale Law School, and their three beautiful children. MAGA2024,” Trump wrote.

Vance did not speak immediately after his nomination.

Trump’s choice was met with swift statements of praise from other Republican leaders, who noted Vance’s ability to connect with everyday voters.

“It’s clear that the future of opportunity, security, and freedom is on the ballot this November, which is in stark contrast from the Democrats’ agenda that has failed Americans with record inflation, rampant crime and a weakened global standing. Senator Vance’s inspiring story resonates with millions of Americans who identify with the adversity he faced and overcame, and it’s abundantly clear that he cares deeply about working tirelessly with President Trump to secure a prosperous future for all,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, chair of the Republican Governors Associate, said in a statement.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, long speculated as a potential Trump running mate, said that Vance was picked because his “small town roots and service to country make him a powerful voice for the America First Agenda. I look forward to campaigning for the Trump-Vance ticket to Make America Great Again!”

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, who was apparently also on the VP-short-list, said that she is “humbled and honored to have been considered by President Trump throughout this process” but that Vance is a “strong VP choice to win this November and govern to save America.”

MassGOP Chairwoman Amy Carnevale told the Herald that 39-year-old Vance represents a turn toward tomorrow for the Grand Old Party.

“The choice reflects Trump’s focus on the future of the country and his efforts to bring in young leaders who can propel the United States forward. President Trump has demonstrated his willingness and desire to bridge gaps and unite the country,” Carnevale said.

President Joe Biden, meanwhile threw cold water on the choice,  telling pool reporters at Joint Base Andrews, that Vance is “a clone of Trump on the issues.”

Biden-Harris 2024 Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, during a press call held Monday afternoon, said she’ll take a Trump-Vance vs. Biden-Harris match-up “any day of the week.”

Vance, O’Malley Dillon said, was picked because he has demonstrated a willingness to do that which former Vice President Mike Pence would not on January 6, 2021, and “bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people.”

“The choice we make in this election will certainly shape the future of America and the world for decades to come,” she said. “There is no where there is a more start contrast between two competing visions than with this pick.”

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said her Senate colleague “thinks everyone should get by with less, except the billionaires” and that a Trump-Vance ticket “is great news for Wall Street, bad news for everyone else.”

“With Trump-Vance, Social Security and Medicare cuts will bear down on seniors like an avalanche,” she said.

Trump’s announcement was quickly followed by his official selection as the party’s nominee, an all-but foregone conclusion effectively reached months ago with the suspension of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s campaign

With the 125 votes of Florida’s party delegation delivered by his delegate-son, Eric Trump, Trump earned the minimum 1,215 delegates required to become the first former U.S. President to ever top the Republican ticket, and the first candidate to do so three times running. He is also the first convicted felon to ever secure a major party nomination and the first nominee twice impeached while in office.

Trump’s nomination Monday and choice of Vance as his running mate comes two days after the former president survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance arrive on the floor during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum, Monday, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)