Administration

Rubio to take questions as Leavitt replacement in White House briefing

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by Mallory Wilson - 05/05/26 10:33 AM ET

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by Mallory Wilson - 05/05/26 10:33 AM ET

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The Iran war will be at the forefront Tuesday when Secretary of State Marco Rubio becomes the first person to stand in for press secretary Karoline Leavitt as she begins her maternity leave.

Iran and the U.S. exchange fire on Monday as the Trump administration began “Project Freedom,” an effort to guide some ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has repeatedly closed amid the war.

Despite the exchange, U.S. officials on Tuesday insisted the ceasefire between the sides remains.

“This is separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury,” Hegseth said at a press conference on Tuesday. “We expected there would be some churn at the beginning, which happened” he said, when asked about the exchange of fire.

Rubio’s appearance in the briefing room comes before he is set to travel to Rome and Vatican City later this week to meet with Pope Leo XIV to discuss U.S. policies, including the Iran war, which the pope has spoken out against.

Rubio, one of the administration’s Catholics, will meet with Leo, the first American pope, on Thursday.

“Secretary Rubio will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere,” the department said. “Meetings with Italian counterparts will be focused on shared security interests and strategic alignment.”

The trip comes after Trump criticized Leo for his comments against the war and shared an AI-image of himself that made him look like Jesus. Both incidents angered the Catholic voter base.

Leavitt started her maternity leave at the end of April ahead of giving birth to her second child.

There was no specific person selected to take over the role while she is gone, but there will instead be a rotating cast of administration officials, which could also reportedly include President Trump and Vice President Vance.

Rubio and Vance are widely seen as the most likely candidates to succeed Trump as the GOP standard-bearer in a presidential race in 2028.

Vance could not be the first briefing room guest star because he is traveling to Des Moines, Iowa to help Rep. Zach Nunn (R) shore up support to get reelected.

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