Rubio report casts spotlight on Trump transition leaks

News of Marco Rubio’s selection as Donald Trump’s secretary of State Monday night prompted a flurry of reports about Trump’s forthcoming announcement of one of his most important cabinet positions.

Except Tuesday rolled around, and now Wednesday, and Trump has yet to officially name Rubio as his pick.

As of midday Wednesday, more than 41 hours have passed since the New York Times reported Trump would tap Rubio, a report POLITICO and other major outlets quickly confirmed.

The Rubio news was the most notable in a series of leaks in recent days about Trump’s still-forming cabinet — a stark contrast to the nearly two-year presidential campaign his team ran that was relatively leak-free. According to a count by POLITICO, half the Cabinet and senior staff decisions so far were shared with the press first.

The Rubio non-announcement set off speculation — especially among those hoping to see Ric Grenell in the role — about whether his appointment was real or a leak meant to force Trump’s hand.

The leaks and lag time between reports about personnel decisions and their official confirmation has called into question whether his political operation, widely hailed as professional over the last two years, will continue as such into Trump’s second White House. Trump’s circle of influence is quickly growing as he has brought in additional transition advisers and is naming new administration appointees.

The confusion and apparent disorganization about staffing rollouts has even set off conspiracy theories within his MAGA base about whether the selections were actually Trump’s. And they have frustrated some of Trump’s longtime aides.

“The president is busy with people in his ear and he's in meetings all day. And it's difficult for his staff to get statements in front of him and approved at this point, unlike on the campaign where things were getting out the door immediately,” said a person familiar with the transition process granted anonymity to discuss internal dealings.

Some 18 hours passed between when the Wall Street Journal first reported Monday evening that Trump was appointing Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser, and when his transition officially announced it on Tuesday afternoon.

Nearly 19 hours went by in the case of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. CNN reported in the early hours of Tuesday morning that she was tapped to be secretary of Homeland Security, later confirmed by an official statement Tuesday night.

A trickle of leaks about the four deputy White House chief of staff positions came on Monday and Tuesday — with Vice President-elect JD Vance confirming one of those on X — before Trump’s team announced late Wednesday morning that Dan Scavino, Stephen Miller, James Blair and Taylor Budowich would each serve as co-deputy chiefs of staff.

Susie Wiles, Trump’s co-campaign manager, who he has since been named White House chief of staff, was widely credited with preventing both unauthorized leaks to the news media and the infighting that was previously common within Trump world.

Now, finger-pointing has begun behind the scenes about who has been behind the leaks, and why they sought to get ahead of Trump or the official press office. It did not go unnoticed by some on Trump’s team that the leaks were going to top reporters at some of the mainstream outlets Trump rails against the most, like CNN and the New York Times.

An adviser to Rubio did not respond to a request for comment.

Here’s a look at the timing of cabinet appointees, from when they were first reported in the media to when an official statement was released:

• Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff: Announced by Trump Transition on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 5:39pm
  
• Tom Homan, Border Czar: Announced on Truth Social Sunday, Nov. 10 11:23pm 
  
• Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator: First reported by the New York Post at 3:10pm, then announced by Trump Transition on Monday, Nov. 11, 3:26pm 
  
• Elise Stefanik, UN Ambassador: First reported by CNN on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 9:50pm, then announced by Trump Transition on Monday, Nov. 11 at 4:03pm
  
• Mike Waltz, NSA: First reported by the Wall Street Journal on Monday, Nov. 11 at 6:30pm, then announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 1:16pm
   
• Mike Huckabee, Israel Amb.: Announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 1:39pm
  
• Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy to Middle East: Announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 5:04pm
  
• Bill McGinley, WH counsel: Announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 5:33 pm
  
• John Ratcliffe, CIA director: Announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 5:39 pm
  
• Pete Hegseth, Defense secretary: Announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7:07 pm
  
• Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, DOGE: Announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7:35 pm
  
• Kristi Noem, DHS secretary: First reported by CNN around 1am on Tuesday, Nov. 12 and then announced by Trump Transition at 7:45 pm 
  
• Stephen Miller, James Blair, Taylor Budowich, Dan Scavino deputy chiefs of staff: Miller first reported by CNN Monday, Nov. 11 at 10:30am; Washington Post reported Blair, Budowich, and Scavino on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 1:30pm; Announced by Trump Transition Wednesday, Nov. 12, 10:41am  

Still not confirmed:

Marco Rubio, Secretary of State: First reported by the New York Times Monday, Nov. 11 at 8:20 p.m.