Trump Polls Supporters on JD Vance as 2028 Field Takes Shape

" The moment of levity masked deeper anxiety inside the White House over the still-distant 2028 presidential election and the Republican ticket. Trump has conducted several snap polls in recent weeks, a source familiar with the matter said. When he polled donors at Mar-a-Lago, they favored Marco Rubio.

But when Trump polled a group of law enforcement officers, whom the White House views as more representative of regular voters, they favored Vance. JD Vance remains the presumptive 2028 Republican nominee, White House sources said. Even so, Vice President Vance's top advisers huddled at a retreat to discuss political strategy at the start of the week.

Vance began discussing changes to his team back in January, including the addition of Cliff Sims as national security adviser and elevating Will Martin to deputy chief of staff, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Cliff Sims's new position as Vice President Vance's national security adviser was announced yesterday.

Sims has spent the past year as an external adviser to CIA director John Ratcliffe, according to multiple sources familiar with the arrangement.

He previously served as a White House press aide and later as communications director for the office of the director of national intelligence. Marco Rubio holds the title of Trump's national security adviser in addition to secretary of state. Rubio filled in for press secretary Karoline Leavitt to brief reporters on the Iran war last week.

The White House posted a clip of Rubio describing his vision for America on X. "President Trump has assembled an all-star team that has achieved unprecedented success in just over one year. Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio are both invaluable members of the President’s team," Olivia Wales, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement.

The Iran war has added to political pressure on Republicans. Top Pentagon officials testified that the conflict has so far cost at least $29 billion, up from the $25 billion officials estimated two weeks ago. The $29 billion estimate includes the cost to replace munitions and at least 39 aircraft destroyed by Iran, acting Pentagon comptroller Jay Hurst said at a House budget hearing.

A House GOP spending package earmarks $1 billion for Trump’s ballroom project. The package is among issues that could complicate Republican prospects in upcoming midterms. Separately, the Trump Justice Department paid out millions of dollars to settle misconduct claims from suspended FBI agents, sometimes even after their claims were rejected in court, Jamie Raskin said.

Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, detailed one FBI agent who lied about being at the Capitol on January 6 and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay despite being ineligible. FBI Director Kash Patel accused Senator Chris Van Hollen of “slinging margaritas” with Kilmar Abrego Garcia during a Senate budget hearing.

The Justice Department mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the CECOT prison in El Salvador last year.

On other fronts, Elon Musk and Fox News host Sean Hannity joined President Trump aboard Air Force One for the flight from Washington DC to the summit in Beijing, according to the press pool traveling with the President. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is attending the China summit after Trump asked him to at the last minute. Huang was spotted on the tarmac as Air Force One refueled in Anchorage.

Marco Rubio changed into a grey Nike tracksuit aboard Air Force One. Wired reported the details of the trip and the broader political maneuvering inside the administration.