Marco Rubio, the so-called “Secretary of Everything” in the Trump administration, has vigorously rejected the idea that he is about to resign. “I don’t know where these things come from, to be honest with you,” he told the New York Times, following reports in the Independent and Bloomberg that, after the crushing midterms, he would be stepping down to work on his 2028 presidential bid. “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?'”
But where did those reports come from? The Independent story, which came first, cited “senior party sources and senior figures in the UK government.” The UK government? That seems a bit rum.
The Washington theory on Rubio 2028 has long been that, at some point, and despite his protestations otherwise, he and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will break out together and form a campaign. More recently, sources have alleged that Rubio is eying 2032. And he has repeatedly indicated that he would not stand in the way of Vice President J.D. Vance, as Vance maneuvers himself into pole position.
On Wednesday, as the Republican party sobbed, Vance took to social media to issue an extraordinarily blunt 600-word assessment of what went wrong.
He wrote:
1) End the war.
2) Focus on cost of living/inflation.
3) Put America First.
4) Change our relationship to Israel.
“Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats.”
Commentators instantly interpreted Vance’s bold post as a power grab – the opportunistic veep turning on the boss. Yet President Trump seemed unbothered. He said that Vance’s assessment was “largely true.” There are, however, conflicting reports as to whether or not Vance forewarned the White House about his missive.
But even if Teams Vance and Trump are not at loggerheads, and Rubio is for now staying put, the post-midterm rumblings and grumblings are bound to continue. Spare a thought for Pete Hegseth, the hapless himbo Secretary of War. Somebody has to take the blame for the Iran calamity. It now seems likely to be him. Maybe his firing will be live-streamed…
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