US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday denied reports indicating that he would leave President Donald Trump's administration in order to run for president.
He said in an interview with the New York Times that working with Trump until the end of his term “was always my plan.”
The newspaper quoted Rubio as saying, “Literally, I will no longer talk about 2028... I simply will not do that.”
US President Donald Trump expected, on Thursday, to reach a “very big” agreement with Russia that is not limited to Ukraine only, but may include “all of Europe,” after meeting with an envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the White House.
Trump revealed that he held an unscheduled meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, who was participating in talks with Ukrainian officials hosted by US First Lady Melania Trump at the White House.
“I can't tell you what I discussed,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. But I'm just telling you that there will be an agreement, and it will be a big agreement.”
“It will be very big,” he added. It will include more than Ukraine, and I can even say that it may include all of Europe. “It will be a great agreement and everyone will be happy.”
Trump indicated that he did not meet with the Ukrainian officials who were present at the White House on Thursday.
The US President's statements are likely to reinforce European fears that Trump will push Ukraine to conclude an agreement that is not in its interest to end the war.
The capitals of NATO countries are also monitoring developments to see whether the US President will meet Putin's extreme demands to limit American influence in Europe, after Trump had previously hinted at the possibility of withdrawing his forces from the continent.
Trump, who pledged to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office in January 2025, has previously promoted imminent peace agreements that did not materialize.
On Thursday, Melania Trump called for a “permanent” ceasefire in Ukraine, during a press conference at the White House attended by representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian sides.
Trump considered that his meeting, along with a six-day truce in the besieged Ukrainian city of Oleshki that the US First Lady announced last month, could constitute a step towards reaching a broader agreement.
Pressure is increasing on US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, as Democrats intend to question him in Congress after their victory in the midterm elections, while Republicans attribute their electoral losses to the war on Iran, of which he was one of the most prominent defenders.
Hegseth, a former National Guard officer who also worked as a presenter on Fox News, has overcome a series of scandals since taking office in early 2025, but his days at the helm of the Pentagon may be numbered.
So far, President Donald Trump is sticking by his defense secretary. When asked whether he intends to appoint a successor, he said, “He is doing a very good job.”
But Trump and his vice president, Jay DeVance, attributed the Republican losses in the midterm elections to the war on Iran. Hegseth was one of the most prominent supporters of this war and spoke on behalf of the administration regarding it.
This week, opposition Democrats won a large majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate, giving them the ability to open investigations and limit funding allocated to the Ministry of Defense and the war on Iran.
The war, during which Iran partially closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz, caused severe turmoil in the global economy. The sharp rise in prices, especially energy prices, angered American voters.
Vance said, “The war is the reason we lost,” while Trump considered it “largely true” to say that the war was behind the electoral losses.
“I'm going after Pete Hegseth.”
In a video message on Thursday, Hegseth acknowledged the pressures he faces, defending his record and describing the war as a “courageous and historic effort.”
“They are attacking me, and they are attacking us, because we are doing our work effectively,” Hegseth said in front of the Pentagon building. "This will not work, we will not back down."
A number of members of Congress announced their intention to scrutinize the performance of Hegseth and the Ministry of Defense and the management of the war on Iran.
“I will go after Pete Hegseth,” said Democratic Representative Jason Crow, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. He is incompetent and corrupt, and on top of that, he undermines our national security and exposes our soldiers to danger.”
Representative Adam Smith, the committee's top Democrat, said its priority would be "exerting strict oversight over the Department of Defense and the Trump administration," including what he described as "the illegal war on Iran."
For his part, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Thursday that Hegseth “will not back down and will not be deterred by politicians seeking to achieve partisan gains or open sham investigations,” and that he is “one hundred percent committed” to leading the Department of Defense until the end of Trump’s term.
On the Republican side, Representative Thomas Massie intends to file articles of indictment against Hegseth in preparation for his removal, when the House of Representatives resumes its sessions next week.
"There is one case in which I will not re-introduce the articles of impeachment, and that is if Hegseth resigns," Massey said.
Massie, a Trump opponent, sought to launch impeachment proceedings against Hegseth earlier this year, but Republicans adjourned the House of Representatives for recess before the proposal could be voted on.
Massey added, “The draft resolution I submitted to isolate Hegseth is much lighter than what is expected when the Democrats take control of Congress.” “They will hold hearings and conduct trials.”
Repeated scandals
In his video message, Hegseth rejected the “false articles of impeachment” presented by “disgruntled and defeated Congressman” Massie, likening the attempt to impeach him to the impeachment processes targeting Trump in the past.
“It's all about the politics of personal destruction,” he said. “This policy did not work against President Trump, and it will not work with me.”
Hegseth has been the subject of several scandals and controversies, the most recent of which was regarding a plan to broadcast a live shooting execution carried out by a military squad. Trump eventually canceled the plan.
A few months after assuming office, Hegseth faced a scandal over strikes targeting Yemen.
The Atlantic magazine revealed that its editor-in-chief was mistakenly added to a conversation on the Signal app in which Hegseth and other officials discussed the impending operation. In that conversation, the Minister of Defense sent messages that included the timing of the strikes hours before they were carried out.
Strikes targeting boats suspected of being used to smuggle drugs in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean also sparked controversy, especially after survivors of an attack last year were killed in a second strike.
Other decisions that sparked controversy during Hegseth's era included the dismissal of a large number of senior military personnel, including Charles “CQ” Brown, who held the highest military position in the country. The authorities often provided only brief public explanations for these dismissals or did not announce their reasons.
Smith said that the strikes on boats, Trump’s deployment of military forces in American cities, and what he described as “the blatant and destructive politicization of our armed forces,” are all “at the forefront” of the issues that the new Congress will investigate.
