White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is off the grid, and her replacement is stepping up to the podium.

Another member of President Donald Trump’s administration delivered his first press briefing in Leavitt’s absence on May 5. His first day handling the role fuels speculation that the fill-in gig was a scheme crafted behind Leavitt’s back before she took time off.

Marco Rubio takes over for Karoline Leavitt’s seat days after he joked about taking her job on video. (Photos by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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Trump’s administration could not quash the narrative, and now the team is unable to control public perception of the staffing shakeup.

Leavitt, 28, began maternity leave in late April, days before she gave birth to her and her husband Nicholas Riccio’s second child, a daughter.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung and other members of the cabinet, like Vice President JD Vance, are expected to take on her tasks.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio‘s name was not mentioned publicly, but he had an audience of mostly women waiting on him before he entered the press room.

However, a resurfaced video from earlier this week shows Rubio trying out the role as a joke after his colleague’s departure.

In the video, Rubio entered the White House press room, where a handful of reporters and videographers were gathered, to “take a picture” at the podium. He told media personnel they would “ruin his joke” after noticing people recording.

“You guys can’t put this out. Is that OK?” he asked before proceeding to take his place at the front of the room. After asking them to hold the video for an hour, Rubio revealed, “It’s not a joke on the public; it’s a joke on a person.”

The photo surfaced on May 5 — the day of the first press briefing without Leavitt. “Of course it’s him” and “Quite literally the Secretary of everything… everything… everything!!!” Wrote X users, reacting to the media announcement.

Clips of the room with packed out seats had many shocked to learn how many showed up for Rubio’s defense of Trump. “Are they serving free drinks or something? Open bar?” asked one person after viewing the massive crowd.

Under this administration, Rubio has held the position of acting Administrator of USAID and the acting Archivist of the United States.

Endless X threads have photoshopped Rubio in various outfits, making him the “Secretary of Everything” meme.

Worsening the blow to Leavitt’s idea of job security is the fact that Rubio lurked from the West Wing, watching the “machine gun lips” of the White House say farewell to reporters.

Leavitt posted the snapshot, captioning it, “Rest assured — our great Secretary of State is always monitoring the situation.” A heckler responded, “Lookout, he’s probably looking to take over your job… lol.”

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Trump fueled whispers Leavitt was on the chopping block from the Oval Office. In mid-April, he suggested she was to blame for disappointing approval ratings. “Maybe Karoline is doing a poor job, I don’t know. She’s my representative; you’re doing a terrible job. Should we keep her? I think we’ll keep her,” he said without laughing.

Her leave of absence began with an unforgettable bang, casting a cloud of doubt after her teasing remarks about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner came true.

Leavitt told Fox News that Trump “is ready to rumble” and that “there will be some shots fired.” Her husband was recorded telling another reporter to be safe before the event began.

The night ended with a suspected shooter in handcuffs and Trump positioning himself as the only president to survive three attempts on his life. The public suspects the incident was planned and that Leavitt’s commentary proves their suspicions.

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