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While White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt remains on maternity leave, she will be replaced at the briefing podium by rotating Trump administration officials, but the one who replaced her on Tuesday really turned heads.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stepped into a prominent role Tuesday at a White House press briefing, fielding questions on the Iran conflict and broader foreign policy in a performance that underscored his expanding profile within Donald Trump’s administration.
Rubio, who previously served 14 years in the Senate representing Florida, answered reporters in multiple languages, engaged in light exchanges with the press, and addressed questions spanning the Middle East, Latin America, the Vatican, and U.S. gas prices, The Hill reported.
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He clearly indicated through his responses that Trump is the key audience for anyone speaking at the White House podium.
“As President Trump has said, and the facts clearly bear out, the United States of America holds all the cards,” Rubio said in defending the U.S. position against Iran.
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While filling in for @PressSec, @marcorubio answers a powerful question: “What is your hope for America at a time such as this?”
His answer blew me away. pic.twitter.com/ahE3neoHTJ
— Isabel Brown (@theisabelb) May 5, 2026
🚨 NOW: Sec. Marco Rubio just WALKED OUT to fill in as Press Secretary for Karoline Leavitt at the White House, while she’s out on maternity leave
The comedic way he opened the door 😭
Marco wears many hats, he can do anything — that’s why we love him! 🤣
“I’ll be filling in… pic.twitter.com/CrfezMLSow
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 5, 2026
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) May 5, 2026
Rubio is the first official from the administration to take over for Leavitt. However, given that Rubio and Vice President Vance are regarded as the leading GOP presidential contenders for 2028, it was necessary to consider the political implications of his performance, The Hill reported.
“This is chaos, guys,” Rubio joked at one point as he tried to wrangle journalists’ shouted questions in the packed briefing room. “Welcome to the White House,” someone yelled back in response.
While Rubio has publicly deferred to Vice President J.D. Vance regarding the 2028 presidential race, President Trump has repeatedly praised Rubio’s performance in recent months. Rubio has emerged as one of Trump’s closest advisers, playing a central role in U.S. policy toward Venezuela following the U.S. operation that resulted in the capture of its leader, Nicolás Maduro, and in diplomatic engagement with Cuba.
Trump has said Rubio is “totally involved” in negotiations with Iran, even as he has limited Rubio’s direct participation in some meetings with Iranian officials. Rubio has also taken part in discussions involving officials from Ukraine and Russia as part of efforts to resolve that conflict.
During Tuesday’s briefing, Rubio fielded questions for more than 50 minutes, focusing largely on foreign policy issues including the Iran conflict, Trump’s planned trip to China, his upcoming meeting with the Vatican, and U.S. policy toward Latin America, particularly Venezuela and Cuba.
Rubio engaged with reporters with a smile, calling on members of the press by the color of their clothing and singling out an Italian journalist he recognized.
He also checked in with Cara Castronuova of LindellTV, asking whether other reporters were being “mean” to her after laughter broke out in the room when she posed a question. LindellTV is produced by Mike Lindell and Steve Bannon. “No they’re not mean. I don’t think they are, I hope not,” she responded.
The State Department has not held an on-camera briefing since August, though Rubio has taken questions from reporters in other settings. He last briefed State Department reporters in December, answering questions from across the press corps and continuing to engage with the traveling pool. May 1 marked Rubio’s first anniversary as national security adviser, making him the first person to hold both that role and secretary of state simultaneously since Henry Kissinger during the Richard Nixon administration.
On Iran, Rubio echoed Trump’s earlier claim that the War Powers Act is “unconstitutional.” The Vietnam-era law requires presidents to seek congressional approval within 60 days of initiating military operations, but nearly all presidents since the law was passed in 1973 have considered it an unlawful infringement on their roles as commander-in-chief.
Rubio said he held that view even during his time as a senator from Florida, while also asserting that the U.S. conflict with Iran had ended. He added that the administration is entering a “new phase” focused on freeing ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, where vessels have been blocked by Iran from exiting.
