JD Vance Faces Pushback For Response to Husband of Service Member Killed in Iran War

Vance said in his position, "You live in a bit of a bubble," adding that "sometimes information doesn't filter up to me."

Vice President JD Vance is facing pushback after he told the grieving husband of an American service member who died in an Iranian drone strike that it was "literally the first time" he had heard of potential administration failures to protect U.S. military personnel in the ongoing Middle East operation.

Master Sgt. Nicole Amor, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve from Minnesota, was among six service members who died in an Iranian drone attack on an outpost in Kuwait on March 1, just one day after the war with Iran began on Feb 28.

Vance faced questions about the attack and other matters to do with the conflict during a "Things That Matter" town hall hosted Saturday by CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil. Amor's husband, Joey Amor, questioned Vance whether the U.S. had done enough to protect U.S. service members during the attack.

His questions followed media reports at the time alleging that the Kuwait outpost did not have the capacity to shoot down incoming drones and that the Army ignored a request to increase medical support in the area. Injured soldiers have also recently accused the military health care system of failing them in aiding their recovery.

Military.com reached out to the White House for comment.

Vance Reacts to Service Member's Husband

Amor's questions followed media reports at the time alleging that the Kuwait outpost did not have the capacity to shoot down incoming drones, and that the Army ignored a request to increase medical support in the area.

More recently, injured U.S. soldiers accused the military health care system of failing them in aiding their recovery.

"Though the Iranian drone was the weapon that killed my wife, there were a lot of mistakes and a lot of fundamental failures that led up to that," Amor said, adding, "My wife told me things before she passed."

"There's a failure in leadership," he continued. "And I want to know how this administration is gonna start holding those leaders accountable for the actions and the deaths of the soldiers that we honor and that we love."

In response, Vance said America owed the family "a debt of gratitude." He called Amor "a precious human being who served her country honorably."

He added that while he had no doubt there had been potential "failures" in the administration, he explained it was "literally the first time I've heard of this is this conversation" and pledged to know more about what occurred months ago.

As vice president, "you live in a bit of a bubble," he said, adding, "Sometimes information doesn't filter up to me."

Vance Said the Administration Will 'Figure Out What Happened'

Clips of the interaction circulated on social media, drawing some strong responses due to Vance's apparent lack of knowledge of what happened to American service members.

Writing Sunday on X, former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene—now a frequent critic of President Donald Trump and his administration following years of strong support—said Vance "has wrongly defended this war."

"His compassion doesn't fix it," Greene added.

During his remarks, Vance promised to "figure out what exactly happened and what exactly we can do better." He said changes, including making it easier to manufacture drones and new tactics, had improved warfare in the Middle East since the initial days of the military operation then known as Operation Epic Fury.

He acknowledged issues with "where troops were located" that the U.S. "could do better on," but did not elaborate detail-wise.

Twenty-one U.S. service members have now died in Iran, according to Pentagon data. The Pentagon is implementing new protocols to enhance their reporting of service deaths and to bring clarity to the system.