President Donald Trump will travel to Camp David on Friday for a Cabinet meeting, reviving plans that were postponed last month because of poor weather.
The White House announced the trip shortly after Vice President JD Vance canceled a planned visit to Switzerland, where a new round of direct talks with Iran were expected to take place. Late Thursday, the White House said Vance would no longer attend and described the logistics surrounding the talks as neither “simple” nor “predictable.”
Trump’s original May trip to the presidential retreat in Maryland was scrapped because of “possible bad weather conditions,” he said at the time in a post on Truth Social.
The Camp David meeting comes as Trump faces growing criticism from some Republicans over his administration’s memorandum of agreement with Iran.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) emerged as one of the deal’s most vocal critics, arguing that it failed to sufficiently curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“Ronald Reagan is rolling over in his grave,” Cassidy wrote on X. “Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future. Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal.”
Cassidy added that before the recent conflict, “the strait was open, Iran was being crushed by sanctions, and 13 service members were still alive.”
The Louisiana senator has intensified his criticism of Trump since losing his primary bid to Trump-backed candidates Julia Letlow and John Fleming, who are now headed to a runoff.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), another Trump ally, also voiced concerns, telling reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday that the president was receiving “some really bad advice on this deal.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, praised Trump for weakening Iran’s position but warned that “certain aspects of this deal are a step in the wrong direction.”
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Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), a member of the Armed Services Committee, echoed those concerns.
“I am concerned that the memorandum of understanding negotiates away the victories of Operation Epic Fury in ways that are completely out of step with the President’s goals,” Wicker said in a statement Thursday.