Days after Democrats won big in the November 3 midterms, President Trump's team is wrestling with how to handle the roughly eight-month US-Iran war. The administration's stated goals are to bring oil prices down, keep energy flowing, and make sure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, which Trump has framed as total victory. Vice President JD Vance publicly said the Republicans lost because of the war, while Trump acknowledged that Iran was "a piece" of the defeat but said he would have done nothing different. Reports also say Vance and Stephen Miller are quietly pushing for a settlement, though that has not been independently confirmed.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Fox News that the Strait of Hormuz is open for oil, except Iranian oil, crediting US actions. AP reporting says oil is moving again with US Navy escorts for tankers, even as the conflict has spread to the Red Sea. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was with Trump in Florida before heading overseas, and mediators are reportedly working on a framework in which Iran would stop attacks in the strait in exchange for the US lifting its blockade. Exit polls show only about a third of voters called the war crucial to their vote, well behind the cost of living, but many Democratic winners cited voter anger over it. The big question now is whether Trump returns to the heavy bombardment he has threatened or takes a negotiated way out while oil prices stay high.