U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is strengthening his grip on the State Department by warning senior officials that conflicts of interest, unauthorized policy initiatives and unethical conduct could result in termination as Republicans begin looking toward the 2028 presidential election.

Democrats took back control of Congress in the midterm election this week. 

During a meeting last week with senior department officials, including many of the agency’s roughly two dozen assistant secretaries, Rubio stressed that staff must remain within their assigned responsibilities and coordinate major decisions with department leadership, according to four people familiar with the discussion, Reuters reported.

Rubio warned that officials would be fired for unethical behavior regardless of their political connections. Significant policy decisions, he said, required approval from either his office or Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.