(José Niño, Headline USA) The guessing game over who follows President Donald Trump has already reached his Cabinet in the wake of the 2026 midterms.
The Independent reported Thursday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio may quit the administration to prepare a 2028 presidential campaign. Reporters David Maddox and Andrew Feinberg relied on anonymous Republican and British government sources, who cast Vice President JD Vance as Rubio’s main rival.
“It makes complete sense for him to step down and leave the administration,” one Rubio ally told the paper. “He’s definitely ahead of [US Vice President JD] Vance,” the ally added, “but he cannot run while he is still [secretary of state], and being tied to the administration will only harm his prospects anyway.”
A senior British government source agreed. “It seems unlikely that he will stick around,” the source said, adding, “he would make a strong presidential candidate and we expect him to run.”
Washington answered with insults. White House spokesman Davis Ingle accused the paper of “pushing baseless, false conspiracy theories… about President Trump and his administration.”
“The president has assembled a united team focused on his America First agenda, and they will continue winning for the American people no matter how much it upsets the glue-sniffing hacks at The Independent,” Ingle said.
State Department official Dylan Johnson dismissed the story as “completely baseless fake news from made-up anonymous ‘sources.'” Rubio said in September that he had “no plans at this time” to seek the presidency.
Democrats captured both chambers as voter anger over the Iran war and living costs boiled over, Reuters reported. “The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote. Trump acknowledged the damage but defended the war, according to Reuters.
The Independent also reported that Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles could absorb the blame. One Republican source predicted a wider exodus. “There will be about four or five of them running for the hills,” the source said.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
