Steve Laffey is a true American rages-to-riches success story. But Steve took the biblical saying, “from those who have, much is owed,” fully to heart. After a highly successful career in banking, Steve returned to run for mayor in his birthplace -- Cranston, Rhode Island, taking it from bankruptcy to solvency and growth. His remarkable story is conveyed in this Wikipedia entry. Steve’s been a frequent podcast guest on Economics-Matters, most recently in this appearance entitled, Is Steve Laffey America’s Last Real Republican?
Steve and I discussed President Trump’s 28-point plan that betrays Ukraine, our allies, and our nation. Only one person can stand up and oppose President Trump’s capitulation to his apparent master, Vladimir Putin. That’s Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. Rubio is the only adult in the foreign-policy room. But he’s being treated as a messenger boy who’s not even given the message.
Yesterday, Rubio told multiple Senators that the 28-point “peace” plan was Russia’s proposal. When this went public, the White House immediately said the opposite — “It was the American government’s plan.” This led Rubio to immediately publicly deny what he’d just said to a host of Senators two hours before!
This is full-blown diplomatic amateur hour. We have our Secretary of State guessing our foreign policy, US Army Secretary Driscoll presenting the plan as an ultimatum — “Sign immediately or we will cut off intelligence sharing and military aid” — Trump stating, Zelensky can “fight his little heart out” if he rejects the plan, but simultaneously saying, “It’s not my final offer.”
As Steve points out, Rubio’s only move is to resign — to save himself, but, most importantly, to save Ukraine and Europe by calling out Trump’s “peace” plan for what it is — appeasement only equaled by that of Neville Chamberlain to Adolf Hitler.
From Steve Laffey to Secretary Rubio
Mr. Secretary,
You face a defining moment. President Trump’s 28-point Ukraine plan—a proposal that mirrors Moscow’s strategic objectives—has created an unprecedented opening for you to reclaim your integrity and your political future. But this window of opportunity will not last long.
Resign today with dignity. Do so now, and you preserve the credibility necessary to run for President in 2028 as a serious candidate. Wait, and you will be dragged down with an administration whose inconsistencies and incompetence grow more apparent by the day.
You accepted this position believing you could moderate the President’s isolationist impulses and protect American interests abroad. You are not alone in this struggle—John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and others have tried to “hold things together” in his previous administration. They failed, Pompeo was iced out and Bolton is being selectively prosecuted. For you, the time has come to acknowledge that the effort is futile.
The contradictions are now untenable. The administration simultaneously imposes sanctions on Russian oil sales while proposing a plan that would effectively end Ukraine’s independence, reduce it to a rump state, and leave it vulnerable to renewed Russian aggression. This is not foreign policy—it is capitulation disguised as pragmatism.
You know what this administration has become. In March, you endured public humiliation in the Cabinet Room when Elon Musk berated you in front of the President, accusing you of failing to downsize your department quickly enough. Musk dismissed you as someone who is merely “good on TV”—a deliberate insult to your work as America’s top diplomat. The President did nothing to defend you. Instead, he allowed a billionaire with no diplomatic experience to lecture his Secretary of State while other Cabinet members watched in uncomfortable silence.
You have sat through Cabinet meetings where Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised to “solve” autism by September through research linking it to vaccines, Tylenol, and even circumcision—claims thoroughly debunked by medical experts. You heard President Trump repeat these dangerous falsehoods in press conferences, claiming the Amish have “no autism” despite clear evidence to the contrary. You know this junk science undermines public health and insults autistic individuals and their families.
You have witnessed foreign policy conducted not by the State Department, but by real estate developer Steve Witkoff, whose only qualification is his friendship with the President. Witkoff has overshadowed you at nearly every turn—negotiating hostage releases, traveling to Moscow to meet Putin, mediating ceasefire talks in the Middle East and Ukraine. You hold the title of Secretary of State, but Witkoff is “flying all over the world playing secretary of state,” as one official put it, because “he has Trump’s 100% confidence”—something you clearly do not have.
At Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, you were the only person who treated it like a funeral while others—especially the President—turned it into a political spectacle. You watched as the President turned Mrs. Kirk’s Christian courage in forgiving her husband’s murderer into a case of hatred/vengeance. You were embarrassed to be there, just as you were embarrassed to sit at the same table with Kennedy spouting his pseudoscientific proclamations.
You are a man of faith and principle. I urge you to reflect on Revelations 18:4: “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins.”
This is your last chance to step away with your conscience intact and your political viability preserved. Every day you remain, you become further complicit in policies that contradict the Reagan conservatism you represent—strong national defense, principled human rights advocacy, and fiscal responsibility. This is not the Republican Party you joined.
When you leave, state unequivocally why you can no longer serve. Enumerate the specific inconsistencies in foreign policy. Point out how the 28-point Ukraine plan abandons our allies and serves Putin’s interests. Make clear that you gave your best effort, but that principles matter more than proximity to power.
Address what many will not: the President’s terrible treatment of women. You know the record. You know about the conviction. You know about the 27+ women who have come forward. You see the Epstein scandal expanding even now. This must be part of your resignation statement. His behavior towards women is not, never was, acceptable.
My experience as the first Republican candidate to challenge President Trump in 2023 taught me that individual campaigns matter less than our collective responsibility to speak the truth. My candidacy changed nothing. But your resignation—from within this administration, at this critical moment—could change everything.
You have an opportunity to model what principled opposition looks like. To show that some things are worth more than power. To demonstrate that the Republican Party still contains people of conscience willing to stand against corruption and incompetence.
Remember Mr. Secretary, when things turn, they turn quickly. Tonight, take a quick look at how fast it happened to men who thought they were untouchable: Robespierre in 1794—48 hours. From master of France to a head rolling in a basket. Joe McCarthy in 1954—a matter of seconds. One hearing, one confrontation, one quote-- destroyed. Assad 2024, 10 days-- He woke up one morning still thinking he was secure. Two weeks later, he was a refugee in Moscow. Last week it was Larry Summers-- A lifetime of accumulated power and prestige. Destroyed in days. He didn’t die, but everything he built, everything he owned—his reputation, his positions, his relevance—all of it gone. The speed was stunning. The thoroughness was complete.
And you think you’re different? You think your loyalty to Trump means something when the moment comes? It doesn’t. Ask Bolton. Ask Pompeo, ask Cohen, ask Greene. Ask every other person who thought they could moderate him, contain him, save him.
When it turns, they don’t care who you are or what you did. They need a scapegoat. They need someone to blame. And you’ll be right there, Secretary of State, your name on all the worst decisions, your signature on the most indefensible policies.
Where will you be when it happens? Ahead of the game? Or crushed with him and his sycophants?
The choice is yours, Mr. Secretary. Choose wisely. Choose soon.
In faith and conviction: Steve Laffey
Economics Matters — Blog/Podcast/Financial Riddler/MaxiFi Puzzler
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Talking about the same Sec State who is trying to engineer a neocon-style regime change in Venezuela? That's the adult in the room?
It’s a political football, Trump trying to appease everyone, in politics, we never know the end game, Trump is pushing negotiations, start high and meet in the middle. The art of war. True Rubio deserves better, but before resigning, let’s wait to see the “Fat Lady Sing”