Vice President JD Vance blamed the war with Iran for Republican midterm losses. The Independent reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio may be weighing an exit. The White House and State Department rejected the report, and Rubio has said he has no plans to run.
Vice President JD Vance publicly blamed the war with Iran for the midterms rout. In a post on X, Vance said the war was the reason Republicans lost and that the president himself had said so the night before. He made the comments immediately after the loss. Vance distanced himself from the Iran war, which is thought to be one of the biggest drivers of voters moving away from the GOP. Vance is widely expected to seek the 2028 Republican nomination and is considered Rubio's main rival.
Democrats took control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, with voters punishing the GOP for high gas prices and the Iran war. The Independent reported that Democrats seized Republican strongholds such as Kansas and Texas. Sources described the party's losses in both chambers as a disastrous result.
According to a report published Thursday by The Independent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio may be weighing an exit from the Trump administration as Republicans grapple with the midterm losses and fallout from the Iran war. Citing unnamed Republican and British government sources, the report said Rubio could leave his post to prepare for a possible 2028 presidential campaign. A senior UK government source said it seems unlikely Rubio will stay after the midterms and that they expect him to run for president. One Washington insider said Rubio needs to distance himself from the Iran war and pin it on Trump.
The Independent said Rubio is one of up to five Cabinet members thought to be preparing to leave after the midterms. Republican sources named Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles as possible targets of blame. The report described Vance as Rubio's main potential rival for the 2028 Republican nomination. An ally of Rubio said he is the leading candidate at the moment, ahead of Vance, but cannot run while still secretary of state.
Rubio has not announced plans to resign or to run. Asked whether he would seek the Republican nomination, he has said he was focused on his current national security roles and had no plans to run. In September, he told reporters he had no plans at this time to seek the White House and remained fully focused on his responsibilities. He has also indicated he would step aside if Vance decided to run.
The White House rejected the report, and spokesperson Davis Ingle accused The Independent of pushing baseless, false conspiracy theories. In a statement attributed to Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson, the State Department dismissed the report as completely baseless fake news built on made-up anonymous sources.
