Jeffries: Democrats Won't Let Vance Escape His Support for the Iran War

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Wednesday that Democrats will not let Vice President JD Vance forget his support for the Iran war. Vance had just blamed the war for his party's big losses in Tuesday's elections. Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, pushed back and said Vance cannot walk away from his own record now that things went badly for Republicans.

Jeffries told the news outlet Punchbowl News that Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had all been strong supporters of the war. The conflict has lasted more than eight months and has cost the United States billions of dollars. Jeffries said these leaders helped push the country into the war, and that ordinary Americans are now paying higher prices because of it.

Jeffries was especially sharp about the effect on gas prices. He said the war helped cause 'skyrocketing prices on the American people, particularly as it relates to gas.' He also said the war played a big role in what he called 'the decisive defeat' of Republican candidates in the elections. Democrats flipped control of both the House and the Senate on Tuesday night.

After the election losses, Vance posted a long message on social media. He wrote plainly: 'The reason we lost is the war.' He challenged members of his own party to be honest about why they lost and to think about where they go from here. His words surprised many people, since he had supported the war for a long time.

Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, pointed out that Vance was one of the first to defend the war. Before U.S. and Israeli strikes began the conflict on February 28, Vance told The Washington Post there was 'no chance' it would lead to a longer war in the Middle East. That prediction turned out to be wrong, as the fighting stretched on for months.

Even as the war continued, Vance kept defending it. As recently as September, he told reporters he 'wouldn't call it a war,' even though both sides had been trading military strikes for months. Critics said his new comments blaming the war for election losses were hard to believe given his long record of support. Jeffries said Democrats will make sure voters remember that record.

Voters made clear that they were upset about the economy. A poll from The Associated Press found that people across the country blamed President Trump's tariffs and the Middle East conflict for rising costs. A CBS News exit poll also found that 75 percent of voters had a negative view of the U.S. economy around Election Day. Those feelings drove many voters to support Democratic candidates.