WATCH: Vance holds White House briefing after Leavitt's departure

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has left the White House and President Donald Trump has yet to name a replacement. So Vice President JD Vance stepped in Thursday to brief the media.

Watch Vance's briefing in our video player above.

"Are we talking to you as the vice president or the press secretary," Fox News White House reporter Peter Doocy asked Vance.

Vance referred to a meme about the many extra jobs Trump has given Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"I'm not Marco," Vance joked. "I've not yet accepted any additional jobs."

He said Trump wished him well while sparring with reporters, but warned if he did too well he might get the job full time. "So I've got to screw up a little bit because I'm busy enough as it is," he said. "But I'm very much up here as the vice president."

Vance defends friendship with Tucker Carlson even as commentator beefs with Trump

Carlson, a conservative commentator, has been deeply critical of Trump's decision to go to war with Iran. The president, for his part, has lashed back at his one-time ally.

Vance says he has deep disagreements with Carlson, but they're still friends.

"Everybody knows that Tucker Carlson and I are friends, and I think it's very obvious that Tucker has said some things that I disagree with," Vance said.

He added, "I'm not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them."

Vance mocks the prospect of seeing Biden at 9/11 memorial

The vice president was asked about his expected appearance next week in New York at a memorial to mark 25 years since the 9/11 attacks. He said he was "looking forward to it" and called it "an amazing honor."

Vance then recalled the great sense of national unity in the wake of the 2001 attacks, adding, "that's something that we should really try every single day to get back to, and if even just for a day, even if just for a few hours."

But in his next sentence, Vance began mocking former President Joe Biden, who is also expected to be in attendance and whose mental acuity the vice president has questioned.

"I'm also, as you guys can probably guess, I'm really looking forward to hanging out with Joe Biden. I'm sure that we'll have many, many intense intellectual conversations," Vance said.

Vice president says the Federal Reserve should lower rates

Vance said at Thursday's White House briefing that inflation figures show the Federal Reserve should cut its benchmark interest rates.

"Our view, and this has been a consistent message from the president and the rest of the administration on down, is that we believe that the Fed should be lowering interest rates," Vance said. "We feel quite confident that if you look at the inflation numbers, if you look at the CPI numbers, that it's proper and responsible for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates."

Fed officials, including the chair picked by Trump, Kevin Warsh, have said inflation is running above the central bank's 2% target. That's a sign that the Fed should either hold its rates or hike them in order to put downward pressure on inflation.

The consumer price index rose 3.4% in July over the past 12 months.

Vance says the U.S. is investigating report of airstrike hitting an Iranian wedding

The vice president said he was briefed on the reported attack and said "we're investigating it very fully."

Iranian state media reported that four people were killed when a U.S. missile hit a home where dozens of people were gathered to celebrate a wedding.

Vance said the U.S. never targets civilians in combat, but added that "sometimes things happen."

"We're investigating it because obviously we care, we want to know," Vance said. "When our military makes mistakes, they learn from them to try to get better from them."

U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins previously said the U.S. military was looking into the reports.

 Vance says U.S. got 15 million barrels of oil through Strait of Hormuz

Vance said the U.S. is finding ways to escort oil tankers out of the Strait of Hormuz and protect them from Iranian fire, but the administration can given conflicting figures on how much oil is involved.

"We got about 15 million barrels out of the Strait of Hormuz just yesterday," Vance said at the White House briefing, saying that the operation occurred even though the Iranians continue to shoot at tankers.

That 15 million figure is meaningful, but it's lower than the 18 million barrels that Trump posted on social media earlier in the day.

In a CNBC interview on Wednesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said 17 million barrels were carried through the strait on Monday with assistance from the U.S. Navy.

Vance says the Iran conflict is not a war

Vance said that the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran is not a war, two days after the U.S. wrapped up its latest round of strikes.

"I wouldn't call it a war right now," Vance said after a journalist used the term. "There is no active shooting."

"Major combat operations" lasted only about six weeks, during which much of Iran's military capabilities were destroyed, he claimed.

But he says Iran keeps firing at ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and that the U.S. must protect global shipping.

Vice president avoids question about Dan Driscoll's exit as Army secretary

Vance sidestepped a question about Dan Driscoll's exit from his role as U.S. Army secretary after reported tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

"Dan is obviously a very good friend of mine. I think he was a great secretary of the Army. Pete is also a very good friend of mine," Vance said.

He then launched into a defense of the way Hegseth has run the department and changed the culture.

Vance said he could support other Republicans for 2028

The vice president, who is widely expected to seek the presidency in two years but hasn't said if he will run, was asked if he'd support Hegseth or U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — two Republicans whose names have been floated as possible presidential candidates.

Vance said he encourages any Republican who cares about the country to focus on the midterm elections, not a job that is a few years away. But he added, "I could see myself supporting a whole host of people."

He called Hegseth "a great guy" and of Cruz, he said: "Just, clearly, Ted is a very authentic and likable guy and I'm sure he'll do great."