Rubio Dominating WH Briefing Sparks 2028 Chatter
Rubio Dominating WH Briefing Sparks 2028 Chatter
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.
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.
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.
Lisa Kennedy recently married Fred in Hawaii: Who is the Fox News star’s new husband?
Lisa Kennedy recently married Fred in Hawaii: Who is the Fox News star’s new husband?
Fox News personality Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery has entered a new chapter in her personal life after marrying Fred in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Hawaii.
Kennedy shared photographs from the celebration at the Four Seasons Resort Lanai, giving followers a glimpse of the man she now calls her husband and the friends who joined them for the occasion.
“Married the love of my life at the Four Seasons Lanai in a Heidi Merrick dress drenched in sunshine and aloha,” Kennedy wrote. “I love you forever, Fred!!”
While Kennedy has been open about how much Fred means to her, she has kept many details about her new husband firmly outside the public spotlight.
Kennedy and Fred celebrate their marriage in Hawaii
The couple exchanged vows during an outdoor ceremony overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Kennedy wore a sparkling white Heidi Merrick gown with a fitted silhouette, completing her bridal look with a veil and colorful tropical bouquet. Fred wore a light-blue suit with a white shirt, light-colored tie and brown shoes. The newlyweds also wore traditional Hawaiian leis.
Photographs showed Kennedy and Fred walking hand in hand as guests applauded, with the bride raising her bouquet in celebration. Another captured them cutting their multi-tiered wedding cake against a backdrop of palm trees, ocean views and the evening sky.
The wedding announcement became a major moment among Kennedy’s followers, receiving more than 154,000 likes and nearly 2,000 comments.
Several familiar Fox News personalities were also part of the celebration. Emily Compagno, Abby Hornacek and Alexis McAdams were among the recognizable guests photographed in Hawaii.
Emily later wrote that they had the “best time celebrating Kennedy and Fred’s marriage,” adding, “The Fox family showed up for our favorite girl.”
Who is Kennedy’s husband, Fred?
Despite the attention surrounding their wedding, Fred remains largely a private figure.
Based on what Kennedy has publicly shared, his surname, profession and detailed background have not been revealed. Even when announcing her marriage, Kennedy continued referring to her husband simply as Fred.
What she has shared, however, offers some insight into how unexpectedly their relationship entered her life.
Lisa Kennedy and her new husband Fred / Youtube
Kennedy discussed Fred publicly when announcing their engagement on The Five in December 2025. She revealed that he had proposed on December 10 and said the two had met recently and “unexpectedly.”
During the emotional on-air conversation, Kennedy described the impact their meeting had on her life.
“He is the most beautiful, wonderful human being,” she said. “And I had totally given up until those elevator doors opened and I met him out of the blue — he changed my life.”
Kennedy has not provided additional details about exactly where that first meeting occurred or the circumstances surrounding it.
Their relationship began before the public announcement
Although viewers did not learn about the engagement until December 2025, Kennedy revealed another detail suggesting Fred had quietly been part of her life for some time.
She told her The Five colleagues that she had secretly brought him to the Fox Christmas party the previous year.
“I snuck him in. Don’t tell security,” Kennedy joked during the conversation.
That revelation indicated the couple had already been seeing each other by at least December 2024, even though Kennedy had kept the relationship away from public attention.
Dana Perino was among those particularly moved by the engagement news.
Perino recalled learning about it while Kennedy was appearing on America’s Newsroom, telling her colleague that the announcement had made her cry.
“And Fred is such a wonderful guy,” Perino said before telling Kennedy, “I cried because I’m so happy for you.”
From a private romance to a Hawaiian wedding
Kennedy continued keeping Fred’s personal details private even as she became more open about their relationship.
That approach remained evident at their wedding. While she shared numerous photographs of their special day and publicly expressed her love for her new husband, she did not use the occasion to reveal his surname, career or other biographical information.
Instead, Kennedy kept the attention on their marriage and the happiness surrounding it.
The couple received congratulations from numerous familiar names, including Kat Timpf, Janice Dean, Sandra Smith, Griff Jenkins, Abby Hornacek and Meghan McCain.
For followers who had watched Kennedy announce her engagement months earlier, the Hawaiian ceremony provided the next chapter in a relationship that had largely developed outside the public eye.
What is publicly known about Fred remains limited, but Kennedy has made one thing unmistakably clear: she considers him the man who unexpectedly entered her life, changed it and ultimately became her husband.
From secretly attending a Fox Christmas party together to an emotional engagement announcement and finally exchanging vows beside the Pacific Ocean, Kennedy and Fred have now made their commitment official — while continuing to keep much of their story between themselves.
