US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed reports that he plans to leave the Trump administration. He said on Thursday. It was earlier reported that he was weighing his options after the Republican loss in the midterm elections.
What Rubio said
According to The New York Times, Rubio said working for President Donald Trump until the end of his term has “always been my plan.” He said this in an interview in his White House office.
On the reports, Rubio said: “I don’t know where these things come from, to be honest with you.”
Deep Dive
Is Marco Rubio leaving the Trump administration after the Republican midterm losses?
Why did reports say Marco Rubio might resign after the midterms?
Could Marco Rubio leave to prepare for a 2028 presidential run?
“I love the work I’m doing,” he said. “And plus I always laugh when they say he’s going to leave his job. I go, ‘Which one?’”
Rubio is also Trump’s national security adviser.
Rubio did not answer questions about whether he may run for president in 2028. “I literally will not talk about 2028 anymore,” he said. “I just won’t do it.”
Rubio has said he would back Vice President JD Vance if Vance runs. He told NBC News in May: “JD is a very good friend of mine.”
{{/usCountry}}Rubio has said he would back Vice President JD Vance if Vance runs. He told NBC News in May: “JD is a very good friend of mine.”
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Reports of Rubio’s exit and the denials
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Rubio was thinking about leaving the Trump administration after the midterm defeat. People familiar with the matter said Rubio and his advisers were going over options. However, Bloomberg also said that he had not made a decision and there was no timeline.
Some of the people said Rubio had spoken to White House officials about stepping down and was asked to stay.
But the White House and the State Department denied the report, as per Bloomberg. “This is complete and total fake news based on the word of anonymous sources, befitting a tabloid,” said Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of State for global public affairs.
White House spokesperson Beni Rae Harmony said: “This fake news is nothing more than a fabricated hoax being peddled by anonymous sources with no factual information.”
Rubio himself has now dismissed the reports too.
Reports said Rubio could quit to prepare for 2028 run
As per The Independent, Rubio was on “resignation watch” from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Insiders expected him to quit to prepare for a run for the Republican nomination in November 2028.
According to The Independent, senior party sources in the US and senior figures in the UK government said Rubio could quit even before the midterm results. It said the sources repeated this after the midterms. One Washington insider told the paper that Rubio needs to “distance himself from the Iran war and pin that one on Trump”.
A Rubio ally told The Independent: “It makes complete sense for him to step down and leave the administration.” The ally also said: “But he cannot run while he is still secretary of state, and being tied to the administration will only harm his prospects anyway.”
One senior UK government source told the paper: “We are looking to see what he will do after the midterms. It seems unlikely that he will stick around.”