Fox News chief Roger Ailes says network is 'finished with Rubio': report

Fox News chairman Roger Ailes has signaled a withdrawal of support for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), New York Magazine reported on Wednesday.

"We're finished with Rubio," Ailes reportedly said to a Fox host. "We can't do the Rubio thing anymore."

This story has been updated. Please see below.

The magazine cited three sources within the conservative network, reporting that Ailes' frustration with the Tea Party senator stemmed from a New York Times story published on Saturday stating that Rubio, along with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) met with Ailes and the network's owner, Rupert Murdoch in January 2013 to lobby in support of the "Gang of 8" immigration bill they were pushing at the time.

The two lawmakers also reportedly met with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh has said on his radio show that Schumer "explained" the measure to him, a statement Schumer has not confirmed.

"Roger hates seeing his name in print," an unidentified "associate" of Ailes told the magazine. "He was appalled the dinner was reported."

Since the network has had a contentious relationship with Republican front-runner Donald Trump, Ailes is allegedly "searching" for a new candidate that the network can back.

Update, March 3, 3:59 p.m. EST: The network's executive vice-president of news, Michael Clemente, rejected the report in a statement sent to The Raw Story via email. It can be read in its entirety below.

Consistent with the golden standard of Shermanonymous' 'reporting' on FOX News and Roger Ailes, there is no credence to this narrative or the many other works of fiction he's repeatedly been proven wrong on. Lacking any on-the-record sources, and desperate for attention, his stories are full of made-up quotes, but New York magazine doesn’t seem to care about his overwhelming lack of credibility, journalistic integrity and deeply partisan agenda.