A White House spokesperson attacked The Independent’s reporters as “glue-sniffing hacks” after the paper reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on “resignation watch” and may leave to prepare a 2028 presidential bid.
The Independent, citing unnamed Republican sources and senior U.K. government figures, reported that Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, could depart after the midterms, in which Republicans lost both chambers.
One Washington insider told the paper Rubio needs to distance himself from the Iran war and pin it on Trump. A Rubio ally said he couldn’t run for president as secretary of state and that staying tied to the administration would hurt him. The paper reported that up to five Cabinet members may be preparing to leave.
Not all sources agreed. An administration insider told the paper Rubio had given no sign of wanting to go, though that could change after the midterms. Another source close to the White House suggested he might stay to signal stability, and a longtime Florida operative suggested he might delay leaving if it meant helping oversee the fall of Cuba’s government. Rubio said in September he had no plans at that time for a White House bid, and has indicated he would step aside if Vice President JD Vance runs.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle accused the paper of pushing “baseless, false conspiracy theories” and said the president’s team would keep winning “no matter how much it upsets the glue-sniffing hacks at The Independent.”
A State Department statement attributed to Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson called the report “completely baseless fake news from made-up anonymous ‘sources.’”
The Independent isn’t the only outlet to report turmoil around Rubio’s future. U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor has emerged as a top contender to replace him, according to other reporting.