[U.S. Blue Tsunami] Trump Administration Rift: Hegseth, Vance and Rubio Face Blame Calls

Trump says no Cabinet shake-up, but appears ready to shift blame to key aides
Chief of Staff Wiles also focused on survival

Reports say that conflict over who should take responsibility has spread within the Trump Administration following the Republican Party's crushing defeat in the U.S. midterm elections.

According to reports published on November 5 (local time) by British newspapers The Independent and the Daily Mail, as well as U.S. news outlet The Washington Post (WP), key aides including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles have all become embroiled in the debate over who is to blame for the Republican Party's midterm election loss.

After the Democrats won majorities in both the House and Senate in the November 3 midterm elections, President Donald Trump said he had no plans to reorganize his Cabinet. However, The Independent reported that officials within the administration were seeking someone to hold accountable for the electoral defeat while also trying to prevent blame from falling on themselves.

Calls for Hegseth's ouster... Trump weighs options

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meets with British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on the 15th of last month (local time). Reuters-Yonhap News

The first person being discussed as a possible target for dismissal is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. As exit polls showed the Iran war to be a major concern for voters, calls have grown for Hegseth, who has been directing the war for eight months, to take responsibility.

Citing sources, the Daily Mail reported that President Trump recently called aides directly to ask whether Hegseth should be fired. A senior Republican official said, "Trump is making calls and weighing whether to fire him." Some officials expected Hegseth to resign before the new Congress convenes in January 2027.

Even if Hegseth remains in office, he could face a Democratic push for impeachment. Republican Representative Thomas Massie said he would seek Hegseth's removal. Citing sources familiar with the Defense Department, The Washington Post (WP) reported that the mood inside the department was highly volatile, with officials attacking one another.

However, some people close to the administration also raised the possibility that President Trump could dismiss Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine instead of Hegseth. The White House said Hegseth has the president's full support.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance at a campaign rally in Texas on the 29th of last month (local time). AFP-Yonhap News

Vice President Vance also cited the Iran war as a reason for the election defeat. On November 4, the day after the election, Vance wrote on the social media platform X: "The reason we lost is because of the war. The president himself said so last night."

President Trump had previously cited the war as one of the reasons for the defeat in an interview with Fox News. However, the Daily Mail reported that Vance's post had caught Trump off guard. A White House official told the outlet, "The president was completely blindsided by that post."

Sources contacted by the Daily Mail claimed that Vance's remarks were a calculated move to distance himself from the Iran war and shift blame onto hawks on Iran, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The New York Times (NYT) previously reported that Vance was the only Cabinet official to urge President Trump not to launch a full-scale attack on Iran before the war began.

However, a senior Trump Administration official criticized Vance to the Daily Mail, saying, "It's too little, too late. He only said the Iran war was a reason for the election loss, without even having the courage to say it was a mistake."

"A Vance-Rubio clash is in the making"

Some have also claimed that Chief of Staff Wiles is trying to stoke conflict between Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio to protect her own position. Citing multiple sources, the Daily Mail reported that Wiles appeared to be trying to shift responsibility for the election loss onto other key figures.

One source told the outlet, "Blaming Hegseth, putting Rubio in the line of fire, and giving Vance a headache would ensure Wiles's survival while also protecting Trump's political legacy."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a visit to Kansas on the 1st (local time). AFP-Yonhap

The source also raised the possibility that Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio could clash over responsibility for the Iran war. Vance, who is close to the "America First" wing of the Republican Party, could emphasize that he opposed the war from the outset. Rubio, by contrast, who is closer to the party's traditional wing, could point out that Vance also took part in the diplomatic negotiations with Iran, which ended in failure.

The source said, "Rubio or his allies could tell Trump, 'I wasn't the one handling the Iran negotiations; Vance was,'" adding, "The two will ultimately be set against each other."

Both Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio are being mentioned as potential Republican presidential candidates in 2028. Rubio previously said he would support Vance if he decided to run for president, but The Independent reported that this blame game could also affect their political relationship.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.