Trump orders Vance to drop Iran focus and hunt domestic corruption
The president's directive follows Republican midterm losses and reports that the vice president is weighing new direct talks with Tehran.
By David Marshall ·
President Donald Trump directed Vice President JD Vance to stop prioritizing the Iran conflict on Thursday. Instead, the president wants Vance to concentrate his full attention on fighting corruption and crime in areas controlled by Democrats. Trump posted the instruction on social media, explicitly telling the vice president that the era of negotiating with Iran is finished.
The order comes one week after Republicans lost the Senate and key governorships in the November 3 midterm elections. Vance had previously linked those losses to the economic fallout from the war that began eight months ago. In a post on the platform X, Vance questioned whether losing the Senate for six years was a worthwhile cost for the conflict.
“We don’t need a deal with Iran,” Trump wrote in the new post. “Those days have long since passed. We’ve got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we’ve got their Strait!” The president told Vance to focus his complete and total attention on his anti-fraud campaign. This shift aligns with Trump's earlier comments that the war is militarily effectively over.
The timing of the directive coincides with a report from The Wall Street Journal released Wednesday evening. The newspaper stated that Vance is considering a new round of direct talks with a senior Iranian official. The vice president's office did not respond to requests for comment on the matter. The White House press office said in an email that Trump's post clarifies he sees no need to negotiate.
Democrats plan to launch an intense oversight campaign into Trump's business dealings when they take control of Congress in January. Voters identified corruption as a top concern during the recent election cycle. Trump's post appears to be a direct response to media reports detailing those future legislative priorities.
Vance has considered a run for the presidency in 2028. Voter dissatisfaction with the handling of the Iran war could impact those ambitions. Trump said in a CBS 60 Minutes interview aired Sunday that he may or may not get involved in endorsing a successor for that race.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical flashpoint for global energy markets. Oil shipments have recovered to near prewar levels after Iran choked the waterway for months. International tankers now rely on U.S. Navy escorts to navigate the strait safely. The British military reported on Thursday that at least two tankers were struck by projectiles in recent days while traversing contested waters near Iran.
