Vance takes center stage in faltering Iran ceasefire

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Vice President Vance has quickly become a central figure in trying to maintain a shaky ceasefire in a war that he has reportedly been skeptical about from the start.

Vance is set to travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday along with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, as the trio attempt to cement a two-week ceasefire and bring an end to hostilities with Iran that have persisted for nearly six weeks.

The truce, announced by Trump on Tuesday night, is off to a troubled start, with Iran continuing to fire on Gulf states on Wednesday and Israel launching waves of deadly strikes on Lebanon.

Vance’s deep reservations about foreign entanglements, as a veteran of the Iraq war, seems to have given him credibility with Iranian officials who have lost trust in Witkoff and Kushner after failed talks before the war.

No one in the president’s inner circle was more concerned about the prospect of war with Iran, or did more to advise against it, than the vice president, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

He reportedly cautioned during a high-level meeting in February that a war on Iran could cause regional chaos, alienate Trump’s supporters and deplete U.S. weapons stockpiles. He thought a war to enact regime change would fail and pushed for limited but overwhelming action, aware that Trump intended to intervene in some way.

Two months later, Vance is the point man in efforts to bring an end to the conflict.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera in an interview last week before the ceasefire was reached that he had received messages from Witkoff concerning peace talks, but “the trust level is at zero.”

A source told Reuters at the time that Trump authorized Vance to communicate with “intermediaries” that the U.S. would be open to a ceasefire in exchange for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and other demands.

With the president’s deadline for Iran to agree to open the strait or face devastating attacks on its energy infrastructure approaching Tuesday, Vance was involved in securing the deal, having played a “key role” in talks from the start, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Israel, which wasn’t a party in those talks but agreed to halt attacks on Iran, instead pounded Lebanon — where it is fighting Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful proxy group — on Wednesday. Israel struck major commercial and residential areas in central Beirut, killing more than 250 people, according to Lebanese authorities, in the deadliest day of the conflict.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the talks, said it is. Iranian leaders pointed to Sharif’s public statement in arguing Israel was violating the ceasefire and announced the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the attacks stop.

Vance sought to play damage control on Wednesday afternoon, calling it a “legitimate misunderstanding” in remarks to reporters, The Hill’s Julia Manchester reports.

“I think that the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn’t. We never made that promise,” he said. “That said, the Israelis as I understand it…have actually offered to frankly check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful.”

Araghchi said the U.S. must choose between the ceasefire or continued war.

“It cannot have both,” the foreign minister said in a post on the social platform X. “The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the U.S. court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments.”

▪ The Hill: Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon emerge as obstacles to ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have launched drone attacks on major areas, leading the State Department to advise Americans to leave the country. And multiple Gulf states said Wednesday that they have intercepted missiles and drones from Iran.

Vance’s role as peacemaker has already brought skepticism from hawkish figures in Trump’s coalition.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Trump’s top advocates in Congress, expressed concern about the basis for the talks.

“I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the Vice President and others, coming forward to Congress and explaining how a negotiated deal meets our national security objectives in Iran,” Graham said in a post on X.

Whether Vance, who has been viewed as a potential front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2028, can help keep the president’s base together amid what has been a divisive conflict will be tested in the weeks and months ahead.

This moment could be an opportunity for the vice president to prove himself on the global stage less than a year before the next presidential election cycle gets underway. But it’s off to a rocky start.

▪ The Hill: Four big questions hanging over the ceasefire.

▪ The Hill: Conflicting messages on Strait of Hormuz status.

Smart Take with Blake Burman

One of the immediate impacts of the ceasefire with Iran could be seen in crude oil prices, which are back below $100. There’s typically a lag time between those prices and the price you eventually pay at the pump. I asked Clayton Seigle, a senior fellow of energy security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, when drivers across America could see lower prices. 

“I think it’s going to take a period of a couple [to] three months once those exports from the Gulf area resume, but we don’t even know when they’re going to resume,” Seigle told me. “With gasoline prices, unfortunately, they go up like a rocket and down like a feather.”

Another factor is when the shipping operators will feel comfortable sending their vessels full of inventory through the strait. You’ll hear a lot of discussion about who controls the strait, but what matters most for markets is when the companies are willing to proceed forward.

Burman hosts “The Hill” weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.

3 Things to Know Today:

Eligible men will start being automatically registered into the military draft pool by December instead of registering themselves to streamline the process and save money. The draft hasn’t been in place since the Vietnam War, but the Selective Service continues in the event of “national emergency.”

Trump lashed out at NATO again following a meeting with Secretary-General Mark Rutte, saying the alliance “wasn’t there when we needed them.” Rutte said his talks with the president were a “frank, very open discussion.”

The next gross domestic product report covering the last quarter of 2025 will be released this morning, giving an updated picture of the economy toward the end of Trump’s first year back in office.

Attorney General Pam Bondi listens as President Donald Trump speaks at an event on addiction recovery in the Oval Office of the White House, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (Allison Robbert, Associated Press)

NO SHOW: Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not comply with the subpoena she was issued to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for its Jeffrey Epstein investigation, raising questions about next steps.

The committee’s Republican leadership said in a statement that the Department of Justice (DOJ) stated Bondi won’t appear for the deposition scheduled for Tuesday because she is no longer attorney general and was subpoenaed in that capacity. But Democrats on the panel have rejected that argument, noting that Bondi was mentioned by name in the subpoena.

They also pointed to other former attorneys general who have testified.

“Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she’s trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up,” Rep. Robert Garcia (Calif.), the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee, said in a statement.

A committee spokesperson said the panel will contact Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss the next steps concerning rescheduling her deposition.

The DOJ asked Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) in a letter obtained by The Hill to “confirm the subpoena is withdrawn.” The department also argued a “compulsory process is unnecessary in light of our demonstrated willingness to voluntarily assist your oversight efforts.”

Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has taken over Bondi’s role in an acting capacity, met with lawmakers behind closed doors last month to discuss the Epstein files. Democrats stormed out of the meeting, noting that Bondi wasn’t speaking under oath and accusing her of trying to get out of having to comply with the subpoena.

The committee’s Democrats argue only a vote by the panel can withdraw the subpoena. Every Democrat and four Republicans on the panel voted to issue it.

If Bondi refuses to comply, the committee and then the full House could vote to hold her in contempt and call for her to face charges. But the decision to prosecute would ultimately come down to Trump’s DOJ, which is now led by Blanche.

▪ WCIV: Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) holding firm on Bondi testifying.

▪ Miami Herald: Epstein’s ties to Arab royals.

WAR POWERS PRO FORMA: Democrats will attempt to pass a resolution restricting Trump’s war authority by unanimous consent on the House floor today.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced the plan Wednesday to push the war powers vote during a pro forma session Thursday. Pro forma sessions typically only last a few minutes and feature a member gaveling in and gaveling out of session.

The attempt will almost certainly fail as Republican leadership will likely object to the unanimous request. Jeffries said a two-week ceasefire is “woefully insufficient” and the House should return from recess immediately to “permanently” end the war.

The Senate is expected to hold its own war powers vote next week once the upper chamber returns, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday. Similar votes have previously failed in the body. Still, some Republicans have expressed growing impatience with a war that never received congressional approval.

AIPAC ON BLAST: A key meeting for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in New Orleans starting today may reignite tensions within the party over Israel and the role that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is playing in U.S. politics.

Members are expected to consider a resolution denouncing AIPAC’s large spending in congressional races, which has drawn increased scrutiny in recent years. Most recently, it received attention for the millions its associated super PACs played in a New Jersey special election and Illinois primaries.

The groups’ involvement has led several prominent Democrats who were once supportive of AIPAC to turn against the pro-Israel lobbying organization. It also comes as polls show Democrats, and Americans overall, have become less sympathetic to Israel compared with Palestinians amid the war in Gaza.

The DNC will also hold debate on various other resolutions, including whether to recognize a Palestinian state or back conditions on military aid to Israel, Semafor reported.

A dozen states will also lobby members as they seek to gain an early spot in the next nominating process for the 2028 presidential race. The meeting will run from today through Saturday.

▪ FOX13: DNC backing GOP official opposing DOJ on voter information.

GILGO BEACH GUILT: The man accused of torturing and killing seven women and leaving most of their remains near Gilgo Beach on Long Island has pleaded guilty.

The reversal from 62-year-old Rex Heuermann ends decades of questions as police searched for a serial killer. The women who Heuermann admitted to kidnapping were killed between 1993 and 2010.

If the judge accepts his plea, Heuermann will spend the rest of his life in prison. His sentencing has been scheduled for June 17.

Heuermann also agreed to admit to intentionally killing an eighth woman, Karen Vergata, in 1996. Police tracked down Heuermann and arrested him in 2023 after more than a decade of searching.

▪ The Associated Press: ‘Ketamine Queen’ sentenced to 15 years over Matthew Perry death.

AI BATTLE: A federal appeals court has rejected a bid from the AI company Anthropic to immediately block the Pentagon’s labeling of it as a supply chain risk but granted a request to move the case along on an expedited schedule.

The decision overturns a federal judge’s ruling that had temporarily blocked the supply chain risk designation late last month. Oral arguments in the case are set for May 19.

Anthropic and the Pentagon have been locked in a dispute over the use of the company’s AI model Claude and whether the company can impose safety guardrails on how it’s deployed.

Anthropic has insisted on its model not be used for mass surveillance on Americans or fully autonomous lethal weapons, while the Pentagon has said it should be allowed to use it for “all lawful uses.”

DEFENSE LEAKS: A former Army employee who had top-secret clearance has been charged with leaking classified information, the DOJ said Wednesday.

A grand jury indicted 40-year-old Courtney Williams of Wagram, N.C., on charges tied to allegedly transmitting classified national defense information to individuals not authorized to receive it, including a journalist. Williams was arrested Tuesday.

The DOJ said in a release that Williams worked for a Special Military Unit from 2010 to 2016, during which she “had daily access to a broad range of classified information.” The indictment alleges she repeatedly communicated with a journalist between 2022 and 2025, sharing classified national defense information.

The department also alleges Williams disclosed unauthorized national defense information on her social media accounts.

Reuters reported journalist Seth Harp published a book last year called “The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces” and an accompanying article naming Williams as a source.

Harp released a statement following the indictment calling Williams a “courageous whistleblower who exposed rampant gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the U.S. Army’s Delta Force,” the outlet reported.

The president will participate in executive time at 8 a.m. He will receive an intelligence briefing at 11 a.m. and participate in policy meetings at 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. He will participate in a “Make America Healthy Again” roundtable at 4 p.m. and additional policy meetings at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The House will convene at 11:30 a.m. for a pro forma session.

The Senate will meet at noon for a pro forma session.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, from right, speaks as Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich listen during a press briefing with President Donald Trump in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein, Associated Press)

TURF WAR: A battle between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is heating up after the Pentagon chief purged multiple top Army officials last week.

The Hill’s Filip Timotija reports tensions flared when Trump selected Driscoll last year to negotiate with Ukrainian officials to try to end the Russia-Ukraine war, according to two former U.S. officials familiar with the dynamics. And a current U.S. official said Hegseth’s “paranoia” has been heightened in recent weeks in response to Trump’s firing of two Cabinet officials.

“He’s just really uncomfortable with anyone who could potentially be outshining him,” the official said.

The Pentagon pushed back on the notion of tensions between the two leaders, saying the Defense secretary “maintains excellent working relationships with the secretaries of every service branch,” including Driscoll.

But the official said Hegseth’s firing of the Army’s chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, and two other senior military officials last week stunned defense officials. George’s ouster prompted some Republicans to rally behind him.

Adding to Hegseth’s anxiety is that Driscoll has been rumored as a potential successor to Hegseth should he be fired, sources said. One former official said the White House has told Hegseth he can’t oust Driscoll, so he’s seeking to undercut him in other ways.

▪ The Hill: Driscoll says he has ‘no plans to depart or resign’

Dan Bilzerian out shopping at Iconic House of Bijan on May 10, 2022 in Los Angeles. (MEGA, GC Images via Getty Images)

INFLUENCER FOR CONGRESS: Social media personality Dan Bilzerian has filed paperwork to challenge Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) for reelection, opposing him in the Republican primary.

A Federal Election Commission filing lists Bilzerian’s candidacy for Florida’s 6th Congressional District. Lake County Commission member Anthony Sabatini, whose law firm’s address was listed on the filing, confirmed to The Hill that Bilzerian is running for Congress.

Bilzerian told The Daytona Beach News-Journal earlier this month that he planned to challenge Fine. Wielding a social media following of more than 30 million on Instagram, Bilzerian has been known to often post himself with scantily clad women online.

The influencer has a history of making antisemitic comments, blaming Jewish people for the Holodomor genocide in Ukraine, the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, the Iraq War and the mass murder of Christians. He has also criticized Fine, who is Jewish, for comments he has made slamming Islam and Muslims.

Bilzerian will likely face an uphill battle in the solidly Republican district, especially given his criticism of the president.

▪ WLNS: Democrats’ Hasan Piker test

Why a progressive and a MAHA activist are joining forces against Big Chemical, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Kelly Ryerson write in The Hill.

The Iran ceasefire was a TACO Tuesday, and thank goodness, Max Boot writes in The Washington Post.

A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen, May 4, 2021, in Washington. (Patrick Semansky, Associated Press file)

And finally … It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for the weekly news quiz!

Next week will see the arrival of Tax Day, so this week’s quiz will analyze your familiarity with the history and details of the day.

Be sure to email your responses to jgans@thehill.com — please add “Quiz” to your subject line. Winners who submit correct answers will receive deserved newsletter fame on Friday.

For how many years has Tax Day been on April 15, as long as it doesn’t fall on a weekend or conflict with a holiday?

Which ancient civilization viewed the tax collector as the most noble in society?

Which war triggered the creation of the Internal Revenue Service?

3. Spanish-American War

Which notorious mobster evaded the law for most of his alleged crimes but was ultimately sent to prison for tax evasion?

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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