US Secretary of State and White House National Security Advisor Marco Rubio is expected to be among several senior Trump administration officials who may resign to prepare for the 2028 presidential election, The Independent reported on Thursday.
According to the report, Rubio is among four or five senior administration figures considering leaving their posts to pursue presidential bids following the Republicans' losses in the midterm elections.
Senior Republican Party sources and officials in the UK government told The Independent that Rubio had been expected to resign even before the midterms.
One Republican source told the publication that Rubio "will be gone after the midterms."
"There will be about four or five of them running for the hills," the source said.
Republican midterm losses fuel speculation over Trump administration departures
The Republican Party's losses in both the House and Senate, described by sources as a "disastrous result," have reportedly accelerated preparations among prospective presidential candidates seeking to distance themselves from the administration.
"The country has completely turned against [US President Donald] Trump. People cannot even say where Iran is on a map and do not get this war," the Republican source said.
"The cost of gas has really pissed people off," the source added.
"Once the Democrats control the House and Senate, we are just going to see attempts at impeachment, and nobody wants to stick around for that."
Sources told The Independent that the midterm results had strengthened their expectation that Rubio would resign to prepare for a presidential campaign.
They also suggested that Rubio would need to "distance himself from the Iran war and pin that one on Trump."
A Rubio ally told The Independent that "it makes complete sense" for him to leave the administration, arguing that while Rubio is a frontrunner for the Republican nomination, he would need to distance himself from Trump to improve his chances.
"He’s definitely ahead of [US Vice President JD] Vance," the ally said, "but he cannot run while he is still secretary of state, and being tied to the administration will only harm his prospects anyway."
Despite serving as a close adviser to Trump, Rubio has reportedly been sidelined on several major diplomatic issues, including negotiations concerning the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war, with the president instead relying heavily on special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
Nevertheless, Rubio's prominent position within the administration has reportedly strengthened his standing as a potential presidential contender.
Vance distances himself from Trump administration over Iran war
Vance, widely expected to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2028 and considered Rubio's main rival, has also begun distancing himself from the administration, blaming the war with Iran for the party's midterm losses.
"The real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone … The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night," Vance said. "Any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there," he added.
Rubio has also reportedly made a favorable impression on senior UK government officials, including all three British foreign secretaries he worked with during his tenure: David Lammy, Yvette Cooper, and Ed Miliband.
According to The Independent, Cooper regards Rubio as "brilliantly intelligent" and "very good to engage with."
One senior UK government source echoed expectations that Rubio would leave the administration.
"It seems unlikely that he will stick around," the source told The Independent, adding that "he would make a strong presidential candidate and we expect him to run."
White House, State Department reject Rubio resignation speculation
Rubio has previously played down speculation about a potential presidential campaign. In September, he told reporters that he had "no plans at this time" to seek the White House and remained "100 percent focused" on his responsibilities in the administration.
He has also indicated that he would step aside if Vance decided to run.
The White House strongly rejected the report, with spokesperson Davis Ingle accusing The Independent of "pushing baseless, false conspiracy theories... about President Trump and his administration."
"The president has assembled a united team focused on his America First agenda, and they will continue winning for the American people no matter how much it upsets the glue-sniffing hacks at The Independent," Ingle added.
The State Department similarly dismissed the report in a statement attributed to Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson.
Johnson described The Independent's reporting as "completely baseless fake news from made-up anonymous 'sources.'"
The statement added that the department looked forward to "revisiting this 'report' in the coming weeks to celebrate yet another humiliating own goal" by the publication.