Marco Rubio on Iran, Deportations, China, and More. Plus. . .

It’s Wednesday, April 23. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Coming up: The black Democrat accused of being a “puppet of the right” and turmoil at the Pentagon. And much more.

But first, a conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio:

Yesterday, we had a pretty big scoop here at The Free Press. After weeks of rumors about a State Department overhaul, my colleagues Gabe Kaminsky and Madeleine Rowley got their hands on the administration’s actual plans.

Officials say it is the biggest shake-up at the department “in decades,” and would mean shuttering more than 130 offices, including those that deal with human rights, counter extremism, and the prevention of war crimes. (If you haven’t already, read their story.)

Later on Tuesday, I spoke to the man overseeing this overhaul: Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Here’s a little of what he said:

On the reorganization of the State Department: “This is not a cost-cutting exercise, although it certainly will provide savings to the American taxpayer. This is a policy exercise.”

On the use of soft power: “We need to be grown-ups about how we talk about this. Promoting democracy and human rights in our relations, for example, with some country in the Middle East, is going to look different than it would with some country in Central America or South America. That’s just the geopolitical reality.”

On Iran: “We do not want a war. We do not want to see war. This is not a president that campaigned on starting wars. And as he said very clearly, Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon and he reserves every right to prevent that from happening, but he would prefer it not happen. He would prefer that there not be a need to resort to military force, either by us or anybody else. He would prefer that it’d be something that we can negotiate.”

On China: “I think China’s the number-one challenge on every front that I can imagine. Geopolitically, national security, economically, industrially.” And: “China is undertaking the fastest, most expansive peacetime military buildup in the history of the world. Not in modern history, in the world’s history.”

On a changing world order: “We have entered an era where we are the most powerful country in the world, but neither our power nor our resources have ever been infinite. And so we have to prioritize them in a mature and sustainable way in this new era. In essence, the world order is changing and we need to adjust our foreign policies to serve our national interest in the new world that’s taking shape.”

I also asked him about the new paradigm for the U.S. and our place in the world. In his opening remarks at his confirmation hearing in the Senate in January, he declared, “The postwar global order is not just obsolete, it is now a weapon being used against us.”

If the postwar global order is over—and I think it’s impossible to deny that it is, regardless of who and what you believe destroyed it—what replaces it?

To hear Rubio’s answer to that question and many others, listen to our conversation by pressing play below, or click here to watch the video version of the episode. And be sure to follow Honestly on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Is Trump Negotiating a Worse Iran Deal Than Obama?

In 2018, Donald Trump called the Iran deal “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.” He then withdrew the United States from that transaction, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). He was right to say so—and right to do so—argues Michael Doran.

That is what makes Trump’s approach to Iran since his return to office baffling. Who is driving Iran policy this time around? And why, as Doran writes, is this White House “on the road to Obamaland”?

It’s a must-read as Steve Witkoff and Iranian leaders head to Muscat this weekend.

Read Michael Doran’s op-ed: “Trump Tore Up Obama’s Iran Deal. Is He Now Negotiating Something Worse?”

Pete Hegseth’s Circular Firing Squad

From the State Department to the Pentagon, where the MAGA-on-MAGA fight over foreign policy is at its nastiest. As Eli Lake and Madeleine Rowley report, the restrainer wing of the administration is now in direct bureaucratic conflict with the more hawkish defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. On Tuesday, Hegseth told Fox News that three recently fired senior officials “are now attempting to leak and sabotage the president’s agenda.”

Is this civil war about foreign policy ideology? Or is it about a breach in trust between a cabinet secretary and his closest advisers and friends?

Read Eli Lake and Madeleine Rowley: “Pete Hegseth’s Inner Circle Is at War with Itself.”

The Young Black Democrat Being Smeared as a “Puppet of the Right”

Jonah Wheeler is a 22-year-old New Hampshire state senator who’s already made national waves. That’s because the young Democrat went against his own party when he voted to allow businesses in the state to be free to keep bathrooms single sex. For doing so, Wheeler has been called a “Nazi,” never mind that he is among the less than one percent of New Hampshire state legislators who is black. Critics have also called him a “fascist,” a “transphobe,” and a “puppet of the right.”

In true live-free-or-die style, he prefers a simpler label: “I’m an independent-minded Democrat.”

“The party,” Wheeler tells The Free Press’s Frannie Block, “has moved to this place where ‘You have to agree with me or you’re the devil.’ That’s not a winning message.”

Read Frannie’s profile of Jonah Wheeler: “The Young Black Democrat Dubbed a ‘Puppet of the Right’. ”

When the Government Is Four Guys in Folding Chairs

Andy Spear for The Free Press. (@andyspear)

These days, practically every level of government—from school boards all the way up to Congress—is buckling under the strain of partisanship and ideological fanaticism. But Jack Baruth lives somewhere that has bucked the trend.

In Troy, which claims some 1,100 residents in central Ohio’s Morrow County, local government isn’t concerned with gender politics or a war thousands of miles away. Why? Because Troy is a township, and almost absolute power resides in the hands of four guys in canvas work pants.

In this rural, deep-red corner of the state, “we have no manufacturing, no warehouses, no major employers, and no commercial building larger than the Dollar General,” writes Jack. “What we do have, and what seems to be in short supply elsewhere, is a sense of community and accountability. You need both.”

Read Jack Baruth: “My Local Government Is Four Guys in Folding Chairs.”

(Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

• Yesterday, Islamist terrorists killed more than 25 tourists in India. The attack took place in Kashmir, a region that many in Muslim-majority Pakistan say is occupied by Hindu-majority India. According to one eyewitness, unidentified gunmen opened fire on the tourists at close range. In a statement on Truth Social, President Trump said: “The United States stands strong with India against Terrorism.”

• Trump’s approval rating has dipped to its lowest level since he took office. In the latest poll, only 42 percent of respondents approved of the president’s performance, and a majority—57 percent—disapproved of Trump’s withholding of federal funds from universities. An enormous 83 percent of respondents agreed that Trump must obey federal court rulings, even if he disagrees with them. For more on this subject, read: “Is Donald Trump Breaking the Law? Seven Experts Weigh In.”

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he expects the U.S.-China trade war to de-escalate in the “very near future.” Speaking at a closed-door JPMorgan Chase private investor summit in Washington, Bessent called the tit-for-tat tariff escalation “unsustainable,” and reiterated that the Trump administration’s goal isn’t to “decouple” from Beijing, but to reach a trade deal.

• Meanwhile, the White House is reportedly “close” to reaching deals with major trade partners such as Japan and India. But officials said it “may take months to hammer out” the details of the agreements. “I wouldn’t even call them deals,” said one person with knowledge of the conversations—more like “an agreement that we would like to talk about doing a deal.”

• Bill Owens, the executive producer of 60 Minutes, has resigned, citing a loss of journalistic independence at CBS. His departure comes after Trump filed a lawsuit accusing the program of “unlawful and illegal behavior,” citing an interview Kamala Harris gave during her presidential campaign that he claimed the network deceptively edited. He’s seeking $10 billion in damages. Journalists at CBS have accused the network of capitulating and placating Trump amid both ongoing efforts.

• Tesla’s net income has sunk by 71 percent in the first quarter of 2025. Sales of the electric vehicles fell in the crucial markets of the U.S., China, and Germany. The polarizing role Elon Musk has played in Trump’s administration is partly to blame, as is the 25 percent tariff that the president has slapped on auto imports.

• Melania Trump, ever confounding fashion critics, ditched the typical Easter bonnet during the White House Easter Egg Roll, opting instead for a Canadian-made trench coat, a surprise choice given Trump’s ongoing trade war with our northern neighbor. As The New York Times put it: “The trench was giving less ‘avatar of spring’ or ‘hostess of the nation’ and more ‘ceremonial holiday general.’ 

CORRECTION: An earlier version of The Front Page identified the treasury secretary as Steve Bessent. He is, of course, Scott Bessent. We regret the error.