After Susie Wiles was abruptly forced out, Donald Trump retreated to Mar-a-Lago, which has become a sunlit refuge from Washington’s increasingly turbulent political climate.
Last Friday evening, Trump introduced his new White House Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, to an enthusiastic gathering of club members. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stood nearby, smiling broadly.
When Miller finished speaking, he passed the microphone to Rubio, who praised the administration as though Republicans had not just suffered a bruising defeat in the November elections.
JD Vance was notably absent from the photo opportunity. Although the vice president and Trump seldom travel together for security reasons, his absence did not go unnoticed by Washington’s political observers.
‘Rubio was there… no Vance,’ one Republican activist texted the Daily Mail.
The opening battle of the next Republican presidential primary will not take place in Iowa or New Hampshire. It may instead be fought over the attention and influence of Miller, the newly empowered ideological hardliner and longtime Trump loyalist.
Among Rubio and Vance, Republican insiders remain divided over who currently holds the advantage.
Several sources described Miller as having strong relationships with both of Trump’s top deputies. However, a former senior Trump White House official ultimately acknowledged that ‘he is closer to Rubio.’
White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both voiced support for President Donald Trump and his war with Iran during speeches at Mar-a-Lago on Friday
Their backing for the conflict immediately after the midterm elections suggests they are doubling down on the president’s unpopular war, while figures such as Vice President JD Vance have sought distance from it. Miller is pictured speaking at Mar-a-Lago on Friday (Source: @JoeyMannarinous/Instagram)
Vice President JD Vance blamed the Iran war and America’s relationship with Israel for helping drive the Republicans’ decisive midterm defeat
‘They have worked closely on third-country deportations, Venezuela, visa revocations and other issues. They are friends.’
Other sources believe Vance and Miller share the stronger personal bond. One person close to the White House described the pair as ‘very aligned ideologically.’
‘I’m not sure there are two people who understand our coalition and base better than Miller and the VP,’ the source said.
Vance is widely viewed as the early favorite in the GOP’s search for a 2028 presidential nominee, with Rubio considered a close second.
Trump, meanwhile, has appeared content to keep potential successors guessing, withholding an early endorsement that could effectively settle the speculation.
Miller’s promotion points to a renewed commitment to policies voters have just rejected, including continuing the war in Iran, expanding deportations and pursuing the president’s political enemies.
The new chief of staff has also developed a notably close relationship with Vance, regularly appearing at fraud task force events and supporting the vice president’s priorities.
The two men are close in age and have similar family lives: both are in their forties and raising several young children. Miller, his wife Katie and their children attended a Halloween celebration at the vice president’s residence, where Vance, his wife Usha and their children also took part.
Miller, Vance and other young staffers ‘all did the kid stuff together so naturally [that] brings people together,’ the former senior Trump official said.
Katie Miller, who hosts her own podcast, interviewed Vance for the show’s debut episode on August 11, 2025. Exactly one year later, she hosted the secretary of state and his wife, Jeanette Rubio.
Rubio, however, has just lost his most influential ally inside the White House. His relationship with Wiles began in Florida and developed over several decades.
Trump announced Friday that Susie Wiles, his longest-serving White House chief of staff, would leave the administration and join the president’s political operation
Wiles, a veteran Florida political operative, has known Rubio, a former Florida senator, for years. Her departure from the White House has raised questions about Rubio’s political future
Wiles is not leaving Trump’s political orbit entirely. She is moving to his political operation, placing a trusted Rubio ally close to the machinery that could help determine Trump’s endorsement in 2028.
Wiles appears not to have forgotten that Rubio treated her kindly after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reportedly forced her out of his administration following her successful management of his 2018 campaign.
Miller’s elevation also suggests the White House intends to press ahead with an agenda critics say voters have just rejected: the war in Iran, mass deportations and an aggressive campaign against the president’s opponents.
‘It’s the war, stupid,’ a Trumpworld operative told the Daily Mail about last week’s election, which has been dubbed the ‘Blue Tsunami.’
‘It was a complete rebuke of the party and the president. If you had to identify one culprit, it would be the war and the energy crisis that followed.’
Vance made a similar argument in a lengthy post on X, blaming the Iran war and the US relationship with Israel for the Republican rout.
That represents a markedly different political calculation from Rubio, who is regarded as more hawkish than Vance and has spent much of the past decade warning about the Iranian regime’s nuclear ambitions.
Trump took note of the difference, telling reporters Saturday evening: ‘A lot of people didn’t like his comments. But not me. He was right, other than one thing. He should have made one other statement. One statement that I think is very important. If you had it to do again? Would you do it again? The answer is yes.’
Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who ran during the 2024 presidential cycle, is also considered an early favorite among Republicans seeking a non-Trumpian candidate
Vance speaks at a White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud event alongside Miller
Within 24 hours of the election, however, a New York fundraiser began receiving calls from wealthy donors who said they could not support Vance in 2028 and would instead consider DeSantis, according to the Wall Street Journal.
DeSantis continues to carry the burden of his failed 2024 presidential campaign, in which he tried to challenge Trump but quickly fell out of contention.
‘While DeSantis is clearly highly intelligent, he just doesn’t have national-level charisma,’ a veteran operative told the Daily Mail.
‘He’s a bit of a dead fish. Unfortunately for Ron, no amount of messaging can solve that problem for him.’
Vance’s team appears unfazed by DeSantis’ potential challenge.
‘JD has always thought he’d wipe the floor with DeSantis,’ a source close to the vice president told the Daily Mail. ‘The concerns right now are about whether he can win a general election, not the primary. He genuinely has not decided whether to run.’
The Daily Mail contacted the governor’s office for comment.
For now, neither Vance nor Rubio, nor anyone else, has formally announced a presidential campaign.
DeSantis ran against Trump in 2024 before withdrawing. After quickly criticizing his party over the midterm losses, he became the subject of online speculation about a possible 2028 presidential campaign
‘We’ve had Trump in the ecosystem for 10 years. So that’s a 10-year bench of MAGA folks that we’ve got to start moving away from and start going towards common sense Republicans,’ a GOP strategist told the Daily Mail. ‘We’re going to have to rebuild a bench’
Launching a campaign before Trump offers his backing could provoke his anger and damage any candidate who moves too soon. Yet after last week’s results, his endorsement may no longer carry the same value it once did.
‘Maybe I’m better off not getting involved,’ Trump said Sunday on 60 Minutes when asked whether he would endorse a candidate in 2028. ‘Probably. Not necessarily.’
He described Rubio as ‘great’ and said he was doing a ‘fantastic job,’ while adding that ‘there are many others’ and that ‘some senators… are excellent.’
The comments left both presumed successors politically exposed.
Although Vance has tried to distance himself from the conflict, that effort may not be enough as younger conservative voters search for alternatives to the president’s inner circle.
‘The American people sent a clear message last week: they think their representatives are over the hill and out of touch,’ said Bradley Devlin of American Ascent, a nonprofit working to build a new bench of Republican talent ahead of 2028.
Launched Monday, the group is concentrating on recruiting younger conservative candidates who could run in the next election cycle and replace aging Republican lawmakers.
‘It’ll be an uphill climb from now until 2028 for Republicans,’ Devlin said.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers, asked for comment, praised Vance, Miller and Rubio for ‘making America respected again on the world stage.’
The Daily Mail contacted the State Department for comment.