HUNT, TEXAS — Chloe Childress, a counselor at Camp Mystic, was killed during the devastating flooding in Hunt, Texas, over the holiday weekend, according to a representative of her high school.
She graduated from The Kinkaid School earlier this year and was set to attend the University of Texas at Austin in the fall.
Jonathan Eades, the head of The Kinkaid School, remembered Childress as someone who had a “remarkable way of making people feel seen” and “steady compassion that settled a room.”
“Whether it was sharing her own challenges to ease someone’s burden or quietly cheering a teammate or classmate through a tough day, Chloe made space for others to feel safe, valued, and brave. She understood what it meant to be part of a community, and more than that, she helped build one,” Eades wrote in a letter to the school community.
While in high school, she was the co-president of her school’s honor council, ran varsity cross country and founded a club devoted to helping senior citizens, according to her LinkedIn.
According to Eades, Childress “lost her life upholding this selfless and fierce commitment to others.”
“A loyal and beloved friend to all who knew her, Chloe led with empathy. Her honesty gave others the courage to speak up. Her resilience helped others push through. Her joy, so present in all the little things, reminded all who knew her to keep showing up with heart,” he said.
Catastrophic flooding over the Fourth of July weekend in Texas left at least 80 people dead and many more are missing, according to officials.
By far the greatest number of fatalities occurred in Kerr County, where 68 people are believed to be dead, according to officials, including 28 children.
There are several major camps in the area. At one of them, Camp Mystic, on the banks of the Guadalupe River, at least 11 of its 750 young female campers and counselors, including Childress, died in the flooding.
The Guadalupe River in Kerr County rose a staggering 26 feet in 45 minutes, officials said. The river reached its second-highest height on record, surpassing a 1987 flood level, according to the National Weather Service.
Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Stephen Miran, ABC News
Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Stephen Miran said that some countries that are negotiating with the United States in good faith could see tariffs delayed as President Donald Trump’s deadline to strike trade deals closes in.
Speaking with ABC News’ “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos, Miran hedged on what deals are in the works.
“On tariffs, the president’s deadline is approaching for the deals. You’ve only seen three deals so far. What should we expect next?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“I’m still optimistic that we’re going to get a number of deals later this week. Part of that is because all the negotiating goes through a series of steps that lead to a culmination timed with the deadline,” Miran said.
Pressed on if these other deals fail to come through and if Trump would extend the deadline, Miran indicated that could be possible.
“Well, my expectation would be that countries that are negotiating in good faith and making the concessions that they need to get to a deal, but the deal is just not there yet because it needs more time, my expectation will be that those countries get a roll, you know, sort of get the date rolled,” he said.
Asked which countries could see that date shifted, Miran refused to elaborate, but said that he has heard good things about talks with Europe and India.
“I would expect that a number of countries that are in the process of making those concessions, you know, they might see their date rolled. For the countries that aren’t making concessions, for the countries that aren’t negotiating in good faith, I would expect them to sort of see higher tariffs,” Miran said. “But again, the president will decide later this week and in the time following whether or not the countries are doing what it takes to get access to the American market like they’ve grown accustomed to.”
Stephanopolous was also joined by former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who balked at the potential economic benefits of Trump’s tariffs.
“It probably will collect some revenue at the cost of higher inflation for American consumers, less competitiveness for American producers,” Summers said. “So higher prices, less competitiveness, and not really that much revenue relative to what’s being given to the very wealthy in this [budget] bill.”
Here are more highlights from Miran and Summers’ interviews:
Miran on CBO estimates for Trump’s megabill Stephanopoulos: Why should we not believe the CBO when they say that something approaching a little more than 11 million people are going to be — are going to lose their health care coverage because of the Medicaid cuts?
Miran: Well, because they’ve been wrong in the past. When Republicans repealed the individual mandate penalty during the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in the president’s first term, CBO predicted that there was going to be about 5 million people losing their insurance by 2019. And you know what? The number was not very significantly changed at all. It was a tiny fraction of that. And so, they’ve been wrong in the past. And look, if we don’t pass the — if we didn’t pass the bill, 8 to 9 million people would’ve lost their insurance for sure, as a result of the biggest tax act in history creating a huge recession. The best way to make sure people are insured is to grow the economy, get them jobs, get them working, get them insurance through their employer. Creating jobs, creating a booming economy is always the best way to get people insured.
Miran on past tax cuts Stephanopoulos: You say this is all going to turbocharge growth. We have seen some experience with this back — in Ronald Reagan’s day, back in 1981. He had huge tax cuts. The growth didn’t come, and they had to end up raising taxes for several years after that. Concerned that could happen again?
Miran: Well, like I said before, you know, history’s on our side. If you look at what happened in the president’s first term, growth soared and there was no real material, you know, meaningful long-term decline in revenue. Revenue as a share of GDP was 17.1% last year, the same as it was before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. So, you got this huge surge in growth as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. There was no material long-term decline in revenue. Corporate revenue even went up as a share of GDP from 1.6 to 1.9%. And the growth delivered. And we expect the same thing to happen this time.
Summers on cuts to the safety net Stephanopoulos: In The New York Times this week, you and Robert Rubin, who also served as president, as Treasury secretary, called this bill “dangerous,” said it “posed a huge risk to the economy.” What are those risks?
Summers: George, just to start with, what your people have been describing is the biggest cut in the American safety net in history. The Yale Budget Lab estimates that it will kill, over 10 years, 100,000 people. That is 2,000 days of death like we’ve seen in Texas this weekend. In my 70 years, I’ve never been as embarrassed for my country on July Fourth. These higher interest rates, these cutbacks in subsidies to electricity, these reductions in the availability of housing, the fact that hospitals are going to have to take care of these people and pass on the costs to everybody else, and that’s going to mean more inflation, more risk that the Fed has to raise interest rates and run the risk of recession, more stagflation, that’s the risk facing every middle-class family in our country because of this bill. And for what? A million dollars over 10 years to the top tenth of a percent of our population. Is that the highest priority use of federal money right now? I don’t think so. This is a shameful act by our Congress and by our president that is going to set our country back.
Summers on claims of economic growth Stephanopoulos: Part of the president’s argument is that economic growth sparked by the bill will alleviate the dangers that you talk about here. The chair of the Council of Economic Advisers is up next and his council issued a report this week projecting $11 trillion in deficit reduction from growth, higher tax revenue and savings on debt payments. How do you respond to that?
Summers: It is, respectfully, nonsense. None of us can forecast what’s going to happen to economic growth. What we can forecast is that when people have to hold government debt instead of being able to invest it in new capital goods, new machinery, new buildings, that makes the economy less productive. What we can forecast is that when we’re investing less in research and development, investing less in our schools, that there is a negative impact on economic growth. There is no economist anywhere, without a strong political agenda, who is saying that this bill is a positive for the economy. And the overwhelming view is that it is probably going to make the economy worse. Think about it this way. How long can the world’s greatest debtor remain the world’s greatest power? And this is piling more debt onto the economy than any piece of tax legislation in dollar terms that we have ever had.
An ABC News graphic shows flood watches for Tropical Storm Chantal as of 5 a.m. on Sunday, July 6, 2025.
Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall at about 4 a.m. on Sunday near Litchfield Beach, South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As of 8 a.m. ET, the center of Chantal was about 15 miles to the northwest of Conway, South Carolina, or about 100 miles north of Charleston, according to the National Hurricane Center. Chantal’s maximum sustained winds had decreased slightly from around 60 mph early Sunday to 40 mph, with the storm moving north-northwest at 8 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
A tropical storm warning remains in effect from the South Santee River, South Carolina, to Surf City, North Carolina, including Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Peak winds in the area are forecast to be 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
About an hour after making landfall, Chantal had weakened, with sustained winds then up to 50 mph.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms from Chantal’s outer bands continue to impact portions of inland South and North Carolina, with the more concentrated showers and thunderstorms from Chantal’s inner bands moving from the South and North Carolina coastline inland.
The tropical storm watch has been discontinued from Edisto Beach to South Santee River, South Carolina, including Charleston.
Chantal is expected to continue to weaken as it moves inland, likely becoming a tropical depression later today and dissipating by Monday.
The storm is forecast to produce scattered showers, and some areas will see heavy rain and gusty winds from thunderstorms throughout the day.
Flood watches remain in effect at least until Sunday night from Myrtle Beach to the west of Wilmington, North Carolina. Flood watches are expected to extend into parts of inland North Carolina, including Fayetteville and Raleigh, until Monday.
Chantal, the third named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was forecast to bring 2 to 4 inches of rain to portions of the eastern Carolinas, with isolated amounts up to 6 inches that could cause flash flooding.
Thunderstorms from the bands of Chantal may also produce isolated tornadoes, as well as lightning and gusty winds.
The storm was also expected to bring minor storm surges to parts of the Carolina coastline, with between 1 to 3 feet of storm surge possible during high tide for coastal areas under the tropical storm warnings.
Heavy rain poured over parts of central Texas, dumping more than a month’s worth of rain for places like San Angelo, killing at least 43 people.
Dangerous amounts of rain caused dangerous flash flooding in parts of Texas, destroying homes and cars on Independence Day.
Here’s a timeline of the disaster:
Friday, July 4 Flash flooding is occurring and with a continued threat through the time period. This is mainly west of Austin and San Antonio.
A flash flood emergency was issued for Friday morning for South-central Kerr County, including Hunt – a “particularly dangerous situation” with up to 10 inches of rain having fallen and more rain still coming down at rates of up to 4 inches per hour.
Another flash flood emergency is north of San Angelo, Texas, with up to 10 inches of rain falling there already with another 3 to 4 inches of rain possible.
7 a.m.: Kerr County, Texas, begins to evacuate people near the Guadalupe River in Hunt amid major flooding caused by 6 to 7 inches of rainfall.
10 a.m.: The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office confirm there have been “multiple fatalities” from “catastrophic flooding.”
“The entire county is an extremely active scene. Residents are encouraged to shelter in place and not attempt travel. Those near creeks, streams, and the Guadalupe River should immediately move to higher ground,” the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said.
1 p.m.: The “devastating and deadly flood” has far surpassed the flood of 1987, becoming the highest flood on record, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said at a press conference Saturday.
Officials say there have been dozens of water rescues.
“This came at night when people were asleep in bed. Please pray for our community,” Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring, Jr. said during a press conference.
Camp Mystic, a girls only camp along the Guadalupe River, said it lost power, water and Wi-Fi. In a letter, the camp told parents that if they have not been personally contacted, then their daughter is accounted for.
“The highway has washed away so we are struggling to get more help,” Camp Mystic said in a statement.
3 p.m.: Heavy rain remains ongoing in parts of Texas, dumping more than a month’s worth of rain for places like San Angelo.
A Flash Flood Emergency remains in effect for south-central Kerr County, including Hunt — a “particularly dangerous situation” with up to 12 inches of rain already have fallen and more rain still coming down through this evening.
Another Flash Flood Emergency for the Guadalupe River from Center Point to Sisterdale, as well as to the north for the Llano River south of Mason remains in effect as the extreme runoff from the heavy rain makes its way down the rivers.
Several major camps in the area are likely impacted by the flooding.
Just before 5 pm: Patrick said they are working to evacuate camps with some of the kids, announcing that there are around 23 campers unaccounted for at Camp Mystic.
Once rain clears, they have 10 buses ready to go and get kids to reunite them with their parents, Patrick said.
Thirteen people are confirmed dead, according to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha.
10 p.m.: At least 24 people have been confirmed dead, according to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha.
Around 23 to 25 campers are still unaccounted for from Camp Mystic.
Saturday, July 5 3 a.m.: A flash flood emergency has been issued by the National Weather Service for Northwestern Travis County and far eastern Burnet county around Lake Travis in south-central Texas
Flash flooding is already occurring as 3 to 7 inches of rain have fallen and the expected rainfall rate is 6 inches in an hour. Additional rates of 2 to 5 inches are also possible.
7 a.m.: This earlier Flash Flood Emergency has been expanded to include much of Burnet County and western parts of Williamson and Travis County.
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration deported eight migrants to South Sudan, according to a Department of Homeland Security official, after the administration had to halt their deportation to a base in Djibouti.
“A district judge cannot dictate the national security and foreign policy of the United States of America,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said to ABC News. “This Independence Day marks another victory for the safety and security of the American people.”
The plane landed in South Sudan just before midnight EST on Friday.
The eight migrants, who DHS has alleged have serious criminal convictions, were the subject of a lawsuit that had halted their deportation to South Sudan and diverted them to a U.S. military base in Djibouti.
The conditions at the base, according to court filings, were both challenging for the detainees and ICE officials who were tasked with watching them.
The lawsuit made it all the way up to the Supreme Court and the court ruled that the Trump administration was not bound by a lower court order to keep them at a military facility in Djibouti.
In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court on Thursday clarified that the noncitizens the Trump administration moved to deport to South Sudan — and has since held temporarily in Djibouti in legal limbo — is not bound by a lower court order to keep them there as legal proceedings play out.
The decision is another win for the Trump administration and its unprecedented effort to deport immigrants to countries with which they have no ties and where they may face mistreatment.
In an unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court explained that when it lifted judge-imposed due process requirements for third-country removals last month the government can no longer be held to account for allegedly violating the requirements.
One of the lawyers representing the group of men called their deportation to South Sudan “punitive and unconstitutional.”
“Because of the Supreme Court’s procedural ruling, these men were denied an opportunity to contest their deportations to South Sudan based on their fear of torture or death,” said Trina Realmuto in a statement to ABC News. “The U.S. State Department warns Americans against all travel to South Sudan yet deported these men there without any due process. Make no mistake about it, these deportations were punitive and unconstitutional.”
-ABC News’ Laura Romero contributed to this report.
(SURF CITY, NC) — Tropical storm warnings have been extended up to Surf City, North Carolina, as Tropical Storm Chantal is offshore from the southeastern U.S. on Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm has maximum sustained wind of up to 45 mph and is moving north at just 3 mph.
The center of the storm is located about 105 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms from Chantal’s outer bands are impacting portions of the South and North Carolina coastline Saturday afternoon along with increasing rough surf and dangerous rip currents.
Chantal is forecasted to continue tracking north towards South Carolina later Saturday, where it is forecast to make landfall on South Carolina on Sunday morning as a weak tropical storm.
Tropical storm conditions are expected to begin Saturday evening for portions of the Carolina coastline from South Santee River to Surf City, where the Tropical Storm Warning is in effect.
Tropical storm conditions are possible beginning later today south of the South Santee River to Edisto Beach in South Carolina where the Tropical Storm Watch is in effect.
Heavy rainfall across the coastal Carolinas will cause some flash flooding through Monday, with storm total rainfall of 2 to 4 inches and local amounts up to 6 inches expected for the Carolinas.
Chantal will bring minor storm surge for parts of the Carolina coastline, with between 1 to 3 feet of storm surge possible for coastal areas under the Tropical Storm Warning.
The system is also expected to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents along parts of the East Coast from northeastern Florida to the Mid-Atlantic states over the next couple of days.
The third named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season forms on average around Aug. 3, according to the National Hurricane Center.
(AUSTIN) — The deadly floods that struck Texas on the 4th of July caught local officials off guard as the torrential rains caused the Guadalupe River to rise to near-historic levels in a matter of minutes, officials said at a press conference Saturday.
A Flood Watch was in effect for parts of New Mexico and western Texas Thursday afternoon as rounds of slow-moving thunderstorms packing heavy rain moved through the area. By Thursday evening, five inches of rain had fallen in parts of western Texas, including Midland and Odessa.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for Kerr County, where the river is located, around 1:14 a.m. Friday.
The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes that morning, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring told reporters Friday.
“This came at night, when people were asleep in bed,” he said.
The river reached its second-highest height on record, surpassing a 1987 flood level, the National Weather Service said.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told reporters that it is up to local mayors and counties to evacuate if they feel the need and many were unsure where the storm would land.
At a news conference Friday, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said the county does not have a warning system on the river.
Kelly was pressed by a reporter as to why evacuations didn’t take place Thursday, but the judge said, “We didn’t know this flood was coming.”
“We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States, and we deal with floods on a regular basis. When it rains, we get water. We had no reason to believe that this was going to be anything like what’s happened here, none whatsoever,” he said.
Rain continued to hit the region Saturday, prompting flash flood emergency warnings for much of Burnet County and western parts of Williamson County and Travis County.
ABC News’ Emily Shapiro and Kyle Reiman contributed to this post.
(AUSTIN) — Heavy rain poured over parts of central Texas, dumping more than a month’s worth of rain for places like San Angelo, killing at least 27 people.
Dangerous amounts of rain caused dangerous flash flooding in parts of Texas, destroying homes and cars on Independence Day.
Here’s a timeline of the disaster:
Friday, July 4
Flash flooding is occurring and with a continued threat through the time period. This is mainly west of Austin and San Antonio.
A flash flood emergency was issued for Friday morning for South-central Kerr County, including Hunt – a “particularly dangerous situation” with up to 10 inches of rain having fallen and more rain still coming down at rates of up to 4 inches per hour.
Another flash flood emergency is north of San Angelo, Texas, with up to 10 inches of rain falling there already with another 3 to 4 inches of rain possible.
7 a.m.: Kerr County, Texas, begins to evacuate people near the Guadalupe River in Hunt amid major flooding caused by 6 to 7 inches of rainfall.
10 a.m.: The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office confirm there have been “multiple fatalities” from “catastrophic flooding.”
“The entire county is an extremely active scene. Residents are encouraged to shelter in place and not attempt travel. Those near creeks, streams, and the Guadalupe River should immediately move to higher ground,” the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said.
1 p.m.: The “devastating and deadly flood” has far surpassed the flood of 1987, becoming the highest flood on record, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said at a press conference Saturday.
Officials say there have been dozens of water rescues.
“This came at night when people were asleep in bed. Please pray for our community,” Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring, Jr. said during a press conference.
Camp Mystic, a girls only camp along the Guadalupe River, said it lost power, water and Wi-Fi. In a letter, the camp told parents that if they have not been personally contacted, then their daughter is accounted for.
“The highway has washed away so we are struggling to get more help,” Camp Mystic said in a statement.
3 p.m.: Heavy rain remains ongoing in parts of Texas, dumping more than a month’s worth of rain for places like San Angelo.
A Flash Flood Emergency remains in effect for south-central Kerr County, including Hunt — a “particularly dangerous situation” with up to 12 inches of rain already have fallen and more rain still coming down through this evening.
Another Flash Flood Emergency for the Guadalupe River from Center Point to Sisterdale, as well as to the north for the Llano River south of Mason remains in effect as the extreme runoff from the heavy rain makes its way down the rivers.
Several major camps in the area are likely impacted by the flooding.
Just before 5 pm: Patrick said they are working to evacuate camps with some of the kids, announcing that there are around 23 campers unaccounted for at Camp Mystic.
Once rain clears, they have 10 buses ready to go and get kids to reunite them with their parents, Patrick said.
Thirteen people are confirmed dead, according to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha.
10 p.m.: At least 24 people have been confirmed dead, according to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha.
Around 23 to 25 campers are still unaccounted for from Camp Mystic.
Saturday, July 5
3 a.m.: A flash flood emergency has been issued by the National Weather Service for Northwestern Travis County and far eastern Burnet county around Lake Travis in south-central Texas
Flash flooding is already occurring as 3 to 7 inches of rain have fallen and the expected rainfall rate is 6 inches in an hour. Additional rates of 2 to 5 inches are also possible.
7 a.m.: This earlier Flash Flood Emergency has been expanded to include much of Burnet County and western parts of Williamson and Travis County.
(WASHINGTON) — Over the past six months, Vice President JD Vance has shown how much of a key player he has become in the Trump administration, serving as the president’s most prominent advocate and advancing his agenda.
The latest example came this week, when Vance helped push President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending bill through Congress.
Vance held a series of meetings with conservative and moderate holdouts and Senate leadership last Saturday to help move the bill forward. A source with direct knowledge stated that Vance played a key role in talking with Senate holdouts throughout the bill before he ended up casting several tie-breaking votes as president of the Senate and move the spending bill along to the House.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who had been critical of the bill’s cuts to Medicaid and SNAP — the food assistance program — met with Vance, where he thanked her for being a team player despite her concerns with the legislation, just before she voted for the bill.
During the sprint to push the bill through, Vance was criticized for his social post around concerns of the bill’s impact on Medicaid, writing that “the minutiae of the Medicaid policy—is immaterial compared to the ICE money and immigration enforcement provisions.”
During all this, Vance was making phone calls to Trump and the two were updating each other on their talks with senators ahead of the bill’s passage.
The vice president attended Wednesday’s meeting at the White House between Trump and several holdouts from the House as the president ramped up the pressure to vote for the bill.
North Carolina GOP Rep. Greg Murphy, who had told reporters on Wednesday night that he was still undecided because of some of the health care provisions, said Thursday that he ultimately decided to support the package after speaking on the phone to Vance and the president.
“I needed assurances,” he said.
A source close to Vance said that he continued to work the phones ahead of the floor vote on the rule, calling multiple House GOP holdouts to make the administration’s case for them to support the bill.
However, it’s not just on the domestic policy front that Vance is having an impact. He has also been critical in supporting Trump’s foreign policy.
While Trump was weighing the decision to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, Vance came to the president’s defense after supporters like Tucker Carlson and those in the MAGA base were outspoken against the U.S. getting involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran.
“He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the president,” Vance wrote on X. “And of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy. But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue. And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish American people’s goals. Whatever he does, that is his focus.”
Vance’s comments were a departure from his prior statements that the U.S. should not get entangled in foreign conflicts.
A prime example is the vice president’s opposition to the U.S. providing more aid to Ukraine.
“I gotta be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another,” Vance said in February 2022, amid an explosion of bipartisan support for the country following the aftermath of Russia’s invasion.
Most recently, Vance expressed concerns about the president’s decision to strike the Houthis in Yemen in a Signal group chat with other top administration officials.
“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” Vance wrote in the chat. “There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”
In the lead-up to the strikes, Trump was trying to engage the MAGA base with Vance to see what their reaction would be if he ordered the bombing.
Prior to the strikes, Trump told reporters on Air Force One while flying back from the G7 summit in Canada that it was possible he could send Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Iranian negotiators.
Vance’s active role in moving Trump’s agenda forward was always part of the plan.
In November, following the election, a source close to the vice president told ABC News that Vance had been tasked to ensure that all of the priorities of the Trump administration move forward and would work on any of the issues Trump needed him to further, signaling that the vice president would not be assigned one specific issue to work on, but would be involved in several policy issues.
It was also expected that Vance would be Trump’s “eyes and ears” in the Senate to ensure that his agenda moves forward, the source also said. It’s familiar territory for Vance, who was elected to the Senate in 2022.
All this comes as Vance is viewed by some as the MAGA heir apparent to Trump ahead of the 2028 election. At the same time, he is working to raise as much money as possible for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms as chair of the Republican National Committee — the first time a vice president has ever held the role.
Joel Goldstein, a vice-presidential scholar and former professor at Saint Louis University Law School, told ABC News that Vance is working in a different timeline compared to his predecessors, as he will serve only one term as vice president under Trump.
“Every vice presidency is different and one of the things that is unique about Vance’s is that every other vice president, you know, with the possible exception of Harris, entered office with the expectation that the president was going to run for reelection,” Goldstein said.
“I think he’s in a very unique position in that his first term as vice president is his last, and so his presidential ambitions, the time for reckoning comes up, you know, much quicker than is normally the case.”
Following his tie-breaking votes in the Senate, several Democrats who might be opponents in the 2028 presidential election attempted to make Vance the face of Trump’s spending bill.
In a post on X, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called out Vance for casting the tie-breaking vote to allow the bill to move forward.
“VP Vance has cast the deciding vote in the Senate to cut Medicaid, take away food assistance, blow up the deficit, and add tax breaks for the wealthiest,” Buttigieg wrote. “This bill is unpopular because it is wrong,” he continued.
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom told Americans on X to “bookmark” this moment, writing that “JD Vance is the ultimate reason why 17 million Americans will lose their healthcare.”
In an interview with NBC News, Trump pointed to Vance and Secretary of State and interim national security adviser Marco Rubio as possible successors, and said, when asked, that he believes his MAGA movement can survive without him.
Asked about the president’s comments, Vance said that if he does end up running for president, he’s “not entitled to it.”
(WASHINGTON) — Hamas announced it has submitted a “positive response” to the mediators about the current ceasefire and hostage exchange release proposal on the table.
How the proposal will be implemented will require another round of negotiations, according to the group.
“The movement is fully prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations regarding the mechanism for implementing this framework,” Hamas said.
The deal comes more than 20 months into the conflict — and more than three months after a previous deal ended.
Israel had expected a response from Hamas on the ceasefire and hostage deal by Friday, an Israeli official told ABC News.
Earlier this week, a Hamas adviser said the group was still studying the proposal.
“Hamas is open to any proposal that will end the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, but Hamas wants guarantees that Israel will commit to moving to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement after the first phase, which is set to last for 60 days,” said Taher Al-Nounou, media adviser to the head of Hamas.
What’s in the deal?
The revised temporary ceasefire deal on the table now deals with the release of more hostages by Hamas, according to two Israeli sources familiar with the matter.
The deal calls for the release of 10 living hostages from Hamas captivity and the return of 15 bodies of hostages being held by the terrorist group.
It is believed there are about 20 living hostages still being held by Hamas.
According to the terms of the proposal, the release of the 10 living hostages and 15 bodies will be staggered over the 60-day period the temporary ceasefire is in effect.
Under the terms of the deal, Hamas will not hold ceremonies for the hostage releases, as they did during a previous six-week ceasefire.
Discussion of a permanent ceasefire will take place during the 60-day period.
Even after Hamas responds to the proposal, there are still several issues that remain to be addressed, one of the sources said — including the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for hostages.
In many rounds of negotiations, Hamas has sought a guaranteed end to the war in Gaza — but that remained a chief sticking point in recent negotiations and something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not agreed to budge on.
President Donald Trump announced earlier this week that Israel had agreed to conditions for the 60-day ceasefire in Gaza.
Trump said representatives from Qatar and Egypt would deliver the final proposal to Hamas, which came after a “long and productive meeting” between Trump officials and Israeli officials in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The latest deal comes after months of negotiations over a ceasefire led in part by U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff.
In May, the White House submitted an Israeli-approved proposal for a 60-day ceasefire to Hamas, but the deal stalled.
At the time, Trump urged both Israel and Hamas to make a deal ahead of and during his first foreign policy trip of his second term in office to the Middle East. Ultimately, a deal was not reached, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ramped up attacks on Gaza after Trump left the region
In January, a six-week temporary ceasefire went into effect, resulting in the release of dozens of captives held by Hamas and an exchange of Palestinian prisoners.
However, that ceasefire ended on March 18 when Israel resumed military operations against Hamas in Gaza, with Israel citing the failure to release the remaining hostages and saying the military was targeting Hamas terrorists who posed a threat to Israeli troops and citizens.
The Israeli government also imposed a blockade on humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip on March 2 that lasted for 11 weeks and ended on May 19.
The Israel-Hamas war has taken a grim human toll. Since the war began, nearly 56,000 people in Gaza have been killed and more than 131,000 have been wounded, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when 1,200 people were killed in a Hamas-led terrorist attack on southern Israel. Hundreds more were taken hostage. At least 20 living hostages are believed to still remain in Hamas captivity.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz and Nasser Atta contributed to this report.
