SOURCE: CNN
President Donald Trump is expected to gather his Cabinet Wednesday for a meeting at Camp David, according to a White House official, convening top officials at a high-stakes moment for the US war with Iran.
Talks around a potential peace deal with Iran have intensified in recent days as the president weighs a path to stop the fighting, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and settle negotiations on nuclear matters within 60 days. There is significant political pressure on the White House to resolve the conflict, with consequential midterm elections months away.
The rare offsite meeting is expected to be attended by all Cabinet members, according to the official. The New York Post first reported the meeting. And it comes after significant turnover within the president’s team: Attorney General Pamela Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer have departed and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is expected to end her tenure next month.
This is the first Cabinet meeting since March 26 and marks the 10th time the Cabinet has gathered during Trump’s second term.
The president has visited the highly-restricted Maryland presidential retreat relatively sparingly, just once during his second term and 15 times during his first.
Originally called “Shangri-La,” the facility has been used as a presidential retreat and place to host foreign dignitaries since President Franklin Roosevelt. The tranquil 180-acre camp houses log cabins, an outdoor swimming pool, a one-hole golf course, a shooting range, a bowling alley and walking trails.
“Yeah, Camp David is very rustic, it’s nice, you’d like it. You know how long you’d like it? For about 30 minutes,” Trump said in an interview before taking office in 2017.
Iran and the United States have signaled they are closing in on an agreement to turn the existing ceasefire that ended weeks of heavy bombing into a longer-lasting settlement.
