Is Secretary of State Rubio considering LEAVING the Trump administration?
With the midterm elections in the rearview mirror, speculation abounds about whether key Cabinet officials may leave the administration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was rumored this week to be one potential departure. He responded to the rumors.
by Summer Lane | November 6, 2026
This week, reports surfaced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was potentially planning on exiting the Trump administration, following the GOP’s brutal midterm losses that cost Republicans control of the U.S. Congress.
Some reports even suggested Rubio may have been planning to leave the White House to focus on a potential 2028 presidential campaign.
Secretary Rubio, however, responded to these rumors, denying the reports.
“I don’t know where these things come from, to be honest with you,” Rubio told The New York Times.
He continued, “I love the work I’m doing. And plus I always laugh when they say he’s going to leave his job. I go, ‘Which one?’”
Rubio also told the outlet that he will “not talk about 2028 anymore – I just won’t do it.”
Vice President JD Vance is broadly seen as the heir apparent for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028, but following the GOP’s tidal defeat in the midterms, the race has become considerably more high-stakes.
After Tuesday’s election results, Vance released a surprisingly candid statement on X admitting that the Republican Party and the administration had sparked voter backlash by starting the war in Iran.
“The reason we lost is the war,” the vice president wrote. “The president himself said so last night. If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest. But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.”
On the Iran issue – and the energy crisis it sparked in the U.S. and around the world – Rubio told the NYT that President Trump deserved credit for taking action to halt the nuclear threat in the Middle East, despite voters’ broad distaste for the conflict.
“Ultimately, that is the price of leadership — is the willingness to do things that may not be politically popular or expedient but are necessary for your country and its long-term future,” Rubio commented.
