Kathrine Frich
They both expect to keep working.
When a political party takes a heavy beating at the ballot box, the blame game always starts within hours.
Behind closed doors, top officials quickly start weighing their next career moves before the dust even settles.
In Washington, two high-profile cabinet seats are suddenly under a harsh spotlight.
Rumours swirl around state
Following this week’s brutal midterm losses for the Republican Party, two top figures in US President Donald Trump’s cabinet is rumored to soon leave their posts. According to HuffPost, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is said to be thinking about stepping down from the administration.
Behind the scenes, Rubio has already sat down with his advisers to talk through his future options, Bloomberg reported, noting that he is also weighing a run for the White House. That potential bid is already drawing early backing on Capitol Hill, where Republican Representative Marlin Stutzman of Indiana told Fox News Digital, “I am all in” for Rubio.
Even so, the top diplomat pushed back against the exit talk during an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, insisting he intends to stay put.
“I don’t know where these things come from, to be honest with you,” Rubio told The New York Times regarding the departure rumours. “I love the work I’m doing,” he added. “And plus I always laugh when they say, ‘He’s going to leave his job.’ I go, ‘Which one?’”
Pentagon under fire
Over at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is dealing with his own shaky political standing after voters broadly turned against the Iran war this week.
According to The Washington Post, top defence officials were “confronted” on Wednesday over public anger toward the conflict and how it helped drive historic Republican defeats at the polls.
While Hegseth himself could be pushed out, The Washington Post reported that the president might also look at sacking General Dan Caine, who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or Admiral Brad Cooper, who has led the war effort.
If the White House keeps Hegseth in place, Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky told CNN he plans to file impeachment articles against the defence chief when lawmakers return next week. On Thursday, Hegseth hit back in an unusual video message.
“A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly,” Hegseth said in the video, adding that the “politics of personal destruction” did not work against President Donald Trump and “it won’t work with me.”
