🎧 Saving My Life’s Work: Eric Rubin on the Dismantling of American Diplomacy

The Spoils System Returns, the Foreign Service Professional Association Is Crushed, and Why the Next President Will Be Handicapped

Peter Mina, former DHS civil rights official, interviews Ambassador Eric Rubin, a 38‑year Foreign Service veteran, former president of AFSA (the Foreign Service’ union), and current Steady State board member. Rubin describes how the Trump administration has illegally dismantled the nonpartisan career foreign service, destroyed employee unions and affinity groups, and replaced them with a loyalty‑based “spoils system.”

He reveals that membership in the Benjamin Franklin Fellowship, a Heritage Foundation project, has become the equivalent of membership in the Soviet Communist Party for State Department officers seeking promotions. Rubin also discusses the catastrophic war with Iran, noting that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff (both staunch Netanyahu supporters) are the actual negotiators, while career Iran experts have been purged. He offers a sobering look at how allies will never fully trust the U.S. again, and why young people should still join the Foreign Service, because America will need diplomats long after Trump.

The episode ends with a powerful call to action: international engagement is the basis of our prosperity and security, and Americans must recognize that we are less safe today than on January 19, 2025.

View the transcript

Ambassador Eric Rubin is a senior fellow with the Democratic Resilience Program at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a member of the board of directors of The Steady State. A career Foreign Service officer for 38 years, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria (2016‑2019) and was elected president of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) from 2019 to 2023. He has held key assignments in Ukraine, Russia, Thailand, and Honduras. You can follow his writing and speaking engagements on LinkedIn.

Join us each Tuesday for the latest episode everywhere you get podcasts.

The Steady State Sentinel is produced by The Steady State, a community of former national security professionals who spent their careers safeguarding the United States at home and abroad. Today, we continue that mission by staying true to our oaths to defend the Constitution, uphold democracy, and protect national security. Each episode features expert hosts in conversation with accomplished guests whose experience sheds light on the crises and challenges facing the nation.

Meet Our Experts