Vice President JD Vance on hostage release and government shutdown

(CBS, KYMA) - Vice President JD Vance spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the hostage release.

When asked if the Trump Administration saw signs of Israel and Hamas complying "complying with everything they need to" and that the hostage release will go ahead, Vice President Vance said:

"Yes, so knock on wood, but we feel very confident the hostages will be released, and that the President is actually traveling to the Middle East, likely this evening, in order to meet them and greet them in person. It's a big day for their families, but I think more importantly, it's a big day for the entire world. The President of the United States said to his entire diplomatic team, especially Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to go and get a deal done, to stop the war in Gaza, to begin to rebuild Gaza so the population could live there in peace and prosperity, to actually eliminate the threat of terrorism to our friends in Israel- which is very, very important, and also to bring the hostages home alive. It was a very tall task. He pursued a very non traditional diplomacy with people who were not 40 year diplomats, but people who brought a fresh perspective to it. And of course, the President was criticized for it. The diplomatic team was criticized for it. But I think that because he chose a different pathway, he didn't just do what everybody else in the past had done. We are now on the cusp of a sustainable peace in the Middle East. It's a great moment."

During the interview, Brennan and Vance talked about the government shutdown.

According to Brennan, more than 4,000 layoff notices called reduction in force (RIF) were sent out Friday to workers across seven different agencies, including the Treasury and Health and Human Services.

President Donald Trump said the administration will be "cutting some very popular Democrat programs that aren't popular with Republicans, frankly, because that's the way it works. They wanted to do this so we'll get little taste of their own medicine."

This prompted Brennan to ask Vance how the administration is deciding who gets laid off, to which the vice president said:

"The main thing that we're focused on is ensuring essential services remain open, and obviously, in a government shutdown, we have limited funds to work with, because the appropriations that keep the government running have not been made. That's thanks to Chuck Schumer and the Democrats. So we're trying to do everything that we can to ensure that low income women and children get the food services that they need. We're trying to make sure that we pay our troops because that matters for national security. We also want our people to get their paychecks. That's where we've been focused, and unfortunately, what that does mean is that some federal bureaucrats are going to have to get laid off. This is not a situation that we're excited about. We want the government to reopen, but Chuck Schumer, the Democrats decided to shut down the government, and we have to deal with the consequences in the administration, so that's what we're doing."

Brennan followed up by asking Vance if he is confident that the job cuts are legal, and if the RIFs during a shutdown is going to withstand legal scrutiny, and Vance said:

"We are confident...Of course, we always follow the law, and we always follow court cases, and we think that we have the authority to do what we need to do. I'm sure that some people will sue, and that will get figured out in court. But the reality is, we have to remember, why are we in this situation? All these conversations about whether it's a temporary layoff or a permanent layoff...we are dealing with a terrible, chaotic situation, because Chuck Schumer and a few far left Democrats decided to shut down the government. If they just joined with the moderate Democrats and the vast majority of Republicans, we can open up the government, and all of these conversations will no longer be necessary."

To watch more of Brennan's interview with Vance, click here.