There are strong indications and rumors that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will soon end his independent presidential bid and endorse former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris.

Though unconfirmed, there is also talk that Trump would reward Kennedy for dropping out and endorsing him with an appointment to a high-level Cabinet position in a prospective second administration, according to NBC News.

The rumors were fueled in part by pointed remarks this week from Kennedy's running mate, Nicole Shanahan, who made it abundantly clear that, if not winning the race themselves, they would vastly prefer to see Trump regain the White House than Harris be elevated to the presidency.

Kennedy could soon drop out and endorse Trump, VP candidate suggests

During a revealing interview Tuesday on the "Impact Theory" podcast, Shanahan rebutted rumors of any sort of talk about endorsements and Cabinet positions between Kennedy and the Harris campaign but confirmed that such discussions have taken place with the Trump campaign.

She also talked about the myriad obstacles put in their path and efforts to "sabotage" the Kennedy campaign by Democrats -- but not Republicans -- and suggested that the "risk" of a Harris presidency had compelled them to consider whether it would be better for them and the nation to drop out of the race and "join forces" with Trump.

According to NBC News' unnamed sources, that decision could come as soon as Friday afternoon and potentially even involve a joint appearance with Kennedy and Trump, who notably will both be in Arizona in the Phoenix area that day.

The outlet also confirmed via its sources, as Shanahan strongly implied, that talks of such a move have been ongoing behind the scenes for weeks, though there was some dispute about whether a Cabinet-level position had been offered to incentivize and reward Kennedy for ending his independent "spoiler" bid for the presidency.

Kennedy seems to confirm talks; Trump signals he's "open to it"

On the same day as Shanahan's interview, Kennedy seemingly alluded to his reported discussions with Trump as he posted on X, "As always, I am willing to talk with leaders of any political party to further the goals I have served for 40 years in my career and in this campaign."

"These are: reversing the chronic disease epidemic, ending the war machine, cleaning corporate influence out of government and toxic pollution out of the environment, protecting freedom of speech, and ending politicization of enforcement agencies," he added, and the overwhelming majority of comments in reply to that post urged him to seek common ground with the former president on most or all of those issues.

According to CNN, Trump himself signaled an openness to the idea of receiving an endorsement from Kennedy in exchange for an appointed position in his next administration, assuming he wins re-election, while speaking with a reporter following a campaign event in Michigan on Tuesday.

"I like him, and I respect him. He’s a brilliant guy. He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him for a very long time," Trump said of Kennedy. "I didn’t know he was thinking about getting out, but if he is thinking about getting out, certainly I’d be open to it."

As for whether he would consider appointing Kennedy to an administration role, the former president added, "I like him a lot. I respect him a lot. I probably would, if something like that would happen. He’s a very different kind of a guy -- a very smart guy. And, yeah, I would be honored by that endorsement, certainly."

What might Kennedy do in a Trump adminstration role?

During Shanahan's interview, she suggested that she could "envision" Kennedy serving in a Trump Cabinet role such as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Another possibility, per former GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who also endorsed Trump and could be eyeing a possible Cabinet position of his own, is some sort of pandemic czar role in which Kennedy would be tasked with reviewing the government's reactive COVID-19 policies and "rectifying those wrongs" that occurred via lockdowns and vaccine mandates, among other things, according to Fox News.