Fox News host Brian Kilmeade is urging President Donald Trump to overhaul his negotiating team for any future talks with Iran, arguing that senior advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have failed to produce results across multiple foreign policy fronts.
Kilmeade made the comments during “The Five” after Trump declared the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement “over” following renewed Iranian attacks on U.S. military installations and commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf. (RELATED: Trump Declares Iran Ceasefire ‘Over’ After US Strikes 90 Military Targets, Gulf Tensions Explode)
‘They have not been effective’
“I also don’t think that Witkoff and Kushner should be the ones doing this,” Kilmeade said. “They’re business guys. They have not been effective in Ukraine, not been effective in Gaza. They have not been effective in this. They can’t have three portfolios to begin with. We have a State Department for a reason.”
Instead, Kilmeade argued that Secretary of State Marco Rubio should take the lead in any renewed diplomatic effort with Tehran, praising Rubio’s experience and the State Department’s diplomatic infrastructure.
The criticism is notable because Kilmeade has generally been supportive of Trump’s foreign policy, making his public call for a personnel change stand out among conservative commentators.
Ceasefire collapses
Trump announced this week that he considers the Iran agreement finished after Tehran launched attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. The United States responded with a new round of strikes on Iranian targets.
While declaring the agreement effectively dead, Trump left open the possibility of additional diplomacy.
“They want to negotiate. They’re good people, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, but they have to come back to me. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them [Iran],” Trump told reporters at the NATO summit. (RELATED: Every NATO Leader Left Turkey With A Revolver From Erdoğan)
Negotiators under scrutiny
Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, and Kushner have served as the administration’s principal negotiators with Iran throughout 2026. Their diplomatic portfolio has also included efforts related to Gaza and Ukraine, drawing criticism from some foreign policy observers who argue the pair have been spread too thin.
Kilmeade’s comments mirror broader criticism from some conservative and pro-Israel voices who contend the administration’s Iran diplomacy has yielded too few concessions from Tehran while failing to prevent renewed hostilities.
Whether Trump will alter his negotiating team remains unclear. Although he has expressed frustration with Iran and questioned the value of further talks, he has continued to publicly praise both Kushner and Witkoff even as he signaled skepticism that additional negotiations would succeed.
READ NEXT: Star Dem Recruit Hit With Questions About Hidden Marriage To Syrian National
