Inside Trump's Cabinet power shuffle: Golden boy Rubio rushed to Rome to smooth tensions with Pope... as insiders reveal brutal reason JD Vance has been left behind

By ELINA SHIRAZI, US SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 01:39, 6 May 2026 | Updated: 01:39, 6 May 2026 The White House has turned to its ultimate fixer, Marco Rubio, to meet with Pope Leo XIV this week. The Secretary of State, 54, is jetting off to the Vatican on a high-stakes diplomatic rescue mission to salvage America's fractured relationship with the pontiff. The administration is shuffling its most powerful players in what insiders are calling a game of diplomatic musical chairs. Three sources have told the Daily Mail that Rubio pitched the idea himself. Notably, Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, signed off on the trip, supposedly focused on pushing humanitarian aid to Cuba through Catholic Charities. But the two-day venture comes just weeks after Donald Trump first launched a blistering attack on the Holy See after opposition to his war on Iran, setting off a global firestorm. The tension was compounded by a bizarre social media incident where Trump posted - and then hastily deleted after backlash - an AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like figure, although he claimed it showed him as a 'physician.'  Thursday's sit-down will mark the very first face-to-face meeting between a senior administration official and the pontiff since tensions boiled over.  Behind closed doors, insiders admit that Rubio, a devout Catholic, will have to clean up a monumental mess. Noticeably absent from the mission is Vice President JD Vance, 41, who converted to Catholicism at age 35. 'Rubio's got the most class,' one source said. 'He is very well-liked generally. He is the right person to get through to the Pope; he is also a devout Catholic, so that helps' The tension, stemming from the back and forth between Trump and the Pope on the war in Iran, was compounded by a bizarre social media incident where Trump posted - and then hastily deleted - an AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like figure Secretary Rubio addressed the May 6-8 trip at the White House Press briefing on Tuesday, saying it was 'planned before' and that he and the Pope share 'concerns about religious freedom.' 'We gave Cuba $6 million in humanitarian aid, but they won't let us distribute it. We distribute it through the church, and we would like to do more,' Rubio said about the goals of his trip. An insider familiar with Rubio's plans told the Daily Mail that the trip focused on aid 'was planned very quickly over the last few weeks.' 'Rubio is going there to ensure that the aid goes to the people and not the regime,' the source added. Despite his own Catholic faith and the fact he joined Rubio in a visit to the Vatican last year, the Vice President is sitting out the upcoming visit. He sparked outrage late last month during a Turning Point USA conference in Georgia, where he hit back at the Pope's critique of the administration's foreign policy. Taking aim at the pontiff's assertion that Jesus 'is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs,' Vance argued the Pope was ignoring large-scale, 'just' conflicts like World War II. In an interview Monday night, the President said that the Pope would 'rather talk about the fact that it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.' 'I don't think that's very good,' he said, adding, 'I think he's endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.' Rubio defended the President's comments, explaining that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon because they would use it against places that 'have a lot of Catholics.' One former 12-year US diplomat, Brett Bruen, who worked under the Obama administration, characterized the Vatican's tension with the administration in blunt terms.  'JD Vance is probably persona non grata at the Vatican,' Bruen said. 'You don't tell God's representative on earth, as a recent convert to Catholicism, what is and isn't his role in preserving peace. Rubio hasn't been that dumb.' In response, Dylan Johnson, Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs at the State Department, emphasized to the Daily Mail that there is no 'wedge' between the Secretary and the Vice President regarding Rubio handling the trip. Vance has said in interviews that Rubio is his 'closest friend' in the administration and that he is 'doing a great job.' 'The Vice President is a trusted member of the President's national security team and has the complete and total confidence of the Secretary and the entire Trump administration,' Johnson said. A source familiar with these plans told the Daily Mail that Wiles had a hand in planning Vance's previously set, three-stop trip to Iowa, Ohio, and Oklahoma because of the midterms. 'His domestic travel has been in the works for quite some time,' the source said, adding that Wiles wanted to 'cut back on foreign travel' and 'keep the focus on domestic issues' as much as possible. So why was Vance sent to Pakistan for peace talks last month with Iran? Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif holds a meeting with Vice President JD Vance on the sidelines of Islamabad Talks US delegation including special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner upon their arrival in Islamabad, Pakistan, for peace talks last month In the case of Islamabad, two White House sources familiar with the trip explain that Vance and Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, pitched the idea of having the Vice President lead talks with Iran, and the President signed off on it. But he emerged from talks with no deal.  Now, just six months away from the midterm elections, Vance's focus will be squarely on 'America' - a move insiders say was inevitable after his scorched-earth rhetoric left the administration's relationship with the Vatican more bruised. 'Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis? Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated Holocaust camps and liberated those, those innocent people, you know, those who had survived the Holocaust? I certainly think the answer is yes,' Vance said during the conference. 'Now we can, of course, have disagreements about whether this or that conflict is just, but I think in the way that it's important for the Vice President of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it's very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology,' Vance declared. For many in the White House, sending Rubio to the Vatican 'just makes sense.' 'Rubio is sort of the one-size-fits-all approach, generally speaking,' one White House insider told the Daily Mail. 'That is why there is the running joke that he has so many jobs, if you will. He is one of the mildest people in the admin, and I mean that as… that is his biggest strength.' A former state department source agreed that Rubio's demeanor makes him uniquely qualified to walk into the lion's den. 'Rubio's got the most class,' the source said. 'He is very well-liked generally; he is the right person to get through to the Pope. He is also a devout Catholic, so that helps.' While in Rome, Rubio is slated to discuss the situation in the Middle East, as well as 'mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere,' with talks regarding Cuba being a major priority for the Secretary. Following his meetings at the Vatican, Rubio will hold Friday talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to cap off the sprint. This evolving holy friction centers on the Pope's most recent opposition to the administration's hardline stance on Iran and his urgent calls for a ceasefire in regional conflicts. 'Peace is not something we must invent, it is something we must embrace by accepting our neighbor as a brother and as our sister,' the Pope recently stated, blasting leaders he said manipulate 'the very name of God' for their own gain. Trump fired back with a vengeance on Truth Social last month.  'Leo should get his act together as Pope,' the President wrote. Trump also publicly labeled the spiritual leader 'weak on crime.' 'Peace is not something we must invent: it is something we must embrace by accepting our neighbor as a brother and as our sister,' the Pope recently stated, blasting leaders he said manipulate 'the very name of God' for their own gain Responding to questions about the escalating rift in April, Trump dismissed the idea of a personal vendetta, but doubled down on policy. 'I have to do what's right. The Pope has to understand that. Very simple, I have nothing against the Pope. His brother is MAGA all the way,' Trump said, referring to the pontiff's brother, Louis. 'I'm not fighting with him. The Pope made a statement. He says Iran can have a nuclear weapon.' The President's verbal jabs sparked widespread upheaval among US Catholics, with clergy rushing to defend Leo XIV and branding the rhetoric 'inappropriate.' But foreign policy experts warn that words won't be enough to smooth things over. Bruen insisted the Secretary of State must make his own tangible gesture of goodwill while on Italian soil. Rubio 'absolutely needs to go to UN food organizations when in Rome,' Bruen advised. 'He needs to make the commitment to support the hungry. That would go a long way in repairing their relationship. If he doesn't go, it would seem pretty callous.' Former State Department consultant John Sitilides, who worked under the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, said the conversation about Iran is absolutely relevant to the Vatican, given his recent comments against the war. The president's comments follow a series of public exchanges in which he has labeled the pope 'weak on crime' and criticized the Vatican's stance on international security 'The Defense Intelligence Agency projected in May last year that Iran by 2035 could possess sixty ICBMs capable of striking Europe and even the continental United States 6,000 miles away,' he told the Daily Mail.  'Secretary Rubio's mission is to explain to Pope Leo and Italian Prime Minister Meloni the Trump administration's position that Iran initiated this war.' Sitilides, current Senior Fellow for Global Risks at the Center for the National Interest, explained that Rubio will need to 'persuasively explain' their case.  That means ensuring that Iran 'does not become the North Korea of the future Middle East, armed with hypersonic glide missiles that can strike targets throughout Europe, including 2,000 miles away in Rome.' 'President Trump appreciates all Secretary Rubio is doing to represent the United States abroad while leading the State Department,' White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told the Daily Mail.  'The President has also tasked Vice President Vance with advancing American interests in crucial Iran negotiations and beyond, as well as advancing the administration's domestic priorities, which he is doing in Iowa today.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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