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Archive photo · 23 January 2025Marco Rubio Denies Resignation Plans, Says He Will Serve Through Trump’s Term
5 Western Mainstream4 Other3 Latin American4 Other source typesPhoto: U.S. Department of State / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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Rubio denies resigning, pledges to serve as secretary through the end of Trump’s term. Reports tie Rubio resignation speculation to midterm losses and a possible 2028 bid.
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Rubio denies exit
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied reports that he planned to resign from President Donald Trump’s administration, telling The New York Times he intended to serve through the end of Trump’s term. Rubio said, “It has always been my plan” to work for President Donald Trump until the end of his term, and he added, “I literally will not talk about 2028 anymore.” Rubio also rejected the premise of departure, saying, “I don’t know where these things come from, to be honest with you,” as speculation grew after Republican midterm losses.
Assistant Secretary of State for global public affairs Dylan Johnson called a Bloomberg report “totally made up,” and the State Department said it would look forward to “revisiting this 'report' in the coming weeks” after rejecting it. The White House and State Department both rejected the resignation speculation while Rubio remained in office, with no departure timetable established as of the time of publication.
Independent report vs denials
The Independent reported that Rubio was considering leaving his post to prepare for a possible 2028 Republican presidential bid, citing unnamed Republican Party sources in Washington and senior figures in the UK government. A Rubio ally told The Independent that “he cannot run while he remains secretary of state, and being tied to the administration will only hurt his prospects anyway.” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle dismissed the report as “baseless, false conspiracy theories,” and Dylan Johnson described it as “completely baseless fake news from made-up anonymous 'sources.'”.
Vice President JD Vance blamed the war with Iran for the party’s defeat, saying, “The real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone … The reason we lost is the war.” The Independent also said Rubio could need to “distance himself from the war in Iran and place the responsibility on Trump,” while Rubio refused to discuss whether he was considering a presidential bid.
What comes next
The speculation about Rubio’s future unfolded after Democrats won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, including wins in Texas and Kansas. The State Department and White House said Rubio had not discussed leaving his role, while Dylan Johnson told Bloomberg the reporting was “complete and total fake news based on the word of anonymous sources, benefitting a tabloid.” For the next phase, the sources tied the stakes to investigations and oversight after Democrats take control of Congress, with Democrats pressing Rubio for answers about the State Department’s attempt to transfer funds to the Trump Peace Commission.
The sources also framed the political contest as a 2028 race between Rubio and JD Vance, with Vance publicly distancing himself and Rubio declining to answer questions about his political future. Harmeet Dhillon’s resignation after the midterm elections was presented as another personnel shift in the Trump administration, while Rubio’s office denied the resignation-evaluation reports and Rubio continued to serve as secretary of state and national security adviser.