Why did President Johnson halt much of the bombing of North Vietnam in 1968?

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s decision to halt bombing operations in North Vietnam during 1968 was a strategic shift driven by the need for a diplomatic path to peace and intense domestic pressure.

Following the Tet Offensive, which eroded public support for the war, Johnson sought to de-escalate the conflict and open negotiations with Hanoi. On March 31, 1968, he announced a partial bombing halt—excluding areas near the demilitarized zone—as a "dramatic gesture for peace" and simultaneously declared he would not seek reelection.1234

The final, total cessation of bombing on November 1, 1968, followed secret assurances from the Soviet Union that North Vietnam would be willing to begin serious negotiations if the United States halted all bombing of the North. Johnson’s administration, facing a shattered domestic consensus and growing antiwar dissent, ultimately prioritized these diplomatic efforts over continued military escalation in an attempt to find an honorable exit from the Vietnam War.423