Rubio weighs leaving Trump administration for possible 2028 run, reports say

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is considering leaving the Trump administration to prepare for a possible 2028 presidential bid after Republicans' midterm losses, The Independent reported, while the White House and State Department dismissed the report as baseless.

Secretary of State and national security adviser Marco Rubio may leave the Trump administration to prepare for a possible 2028 presidential campaign, The Independent reported Thursday, citing unnamed Republican and British government sources. Rubio has not announced any plans to resign or to run.

According to the report, Rubio is among four or five senior administration figures considering stepping down after Republicans lost control of both the House and the Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections. One Republican source told the newspaper Rubio "will be gone after the midterms," while a Rubio ally said he "cannot run while he is still secretary of state."

Rubio with Mike Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the White House in January 2025 (file photo)

Sources said a candidate would need to distance himself from the administration, particularly over the war with Iran. Vice President JD Vance, seen as Rubio's main potential rival for the Republican nomination, has blamed the war for the party's losses, saying "the reason we lost is the war."

The White House called the report "baseless, false conspiracy theories," and the State Department dismissed it as "completely baseless fake news" based on anonymous sources. In September, Rubio said he had "no plans at this time" to seek the presidency, and he has indicated he would step aside if Vance runs.

Bloomberg News also reported Thursday that Rubio is weighing leaving the administration after the midterm defeat.