State Department

The State Department’s Entire Senior Administrative Team Just Resigned

... out the door. All are career Foreign Service officers who have served under both Republican and Democratic administrations. [ In his first major TV interview as president, Trump is endlessly obsessed with his popularity ]. Kennedy will retire from the Foreign Service at the end of the month, officials said. The other officials could be given assignments elsewhere in the Foreign Service. In addition, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Gregory Starr retired Jan. 20, and the director of the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations, Lydia Muniz, departed the same day. That amounts to a near-complete housecleaning of all the senior officials that deal with managing the State Department, its overseas posts and its people. “It’s the single biggest simultaneous departure of institutional memory that anyone can remember, and that’s ...

Senior Officials At Border Patrol, State Department Join Departures Under Trump

... since said that Patrick Kennedy, the State Department’s undersecretary for management, was fired along with three of his top officials. Although the positions are political appointments, new administrations typically keep senior management staff on for a few months to aid in a smooth transition. The firings of Kennedy and his team were preceded by the departures of two other senior officials at the State Department, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Gregory Starr, who retired on Jan. 20, and the director of the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations, Lydia Muniz, who left the same day. The officials have 150 years of experience between them. The departures of officials with a combined 150 years of institutional experience leave a large gap in leadership, and a deficit in experience and familiarity with the department’s bureaucracies that ...

Career Diplomats Leave State Department As Trump Presidency Begins

... State Colin Powell, a retired general. BOUCHER: The military uses terms - probably the ones that appeal to the president. You know, we're going to dominate the situation. We're going to conquer this problem. We're going to eradicate the bad things. And diplomats don't do that. Diplomats have to sort of deal with the messiness of the world and manage it. KELEMEN: Boucher says the new secretary will have to depend on career diplomats who have served in both Republican and Democratic administrations - the kind of people that have been retiring this month. BOUCHER: To lose a chunk of them at the transition and not have a new team ready to go is troublesome. KELEMEN: The Trump administration has not yet filled many posts, from deputy secretary of state on down. Most of the career diplomats who are leaving are close to retirement age. A thirty-nine-year-old diplomatic security agent was a rare younger official who decided to quit ...

221 Million Payment To Palestinians Halted By State Department

... initially approved the Palestinian funding in budget years 2015 and 2016, but at least two GOP lawmakers – Ed Royce of California, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Kay Granger of Texas, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee – had placed holds on it over moves the Palestinian Authority had taken to seek membership in international organizations. Congressional holds are generally respected by the executive branch but are not legally binding after funds have been allocated. Granger released a statement Tuesday saying, “I am deeply disappointed that President Obama defied congressional oversight and released $221 million to the Palestinian territories.”. She added: “I worked to make sure that no American taxpayer dollars would fund the Palestinian Authority unless very strict conditions were ...

Us State Department's Entire Senior Management Team Quits

... foreign ministry, announced that they were standing down. Mr Trump's selection for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, was present at the department’s offices in the Foggy Bottom neighbourhood of Washington DC, when the officials quit on Wednesday, The Washington Post reported. Rex Tillerson was present at the State Department offices when the officials resigned (Getty). The officials were Patrick Kennedy, Under Secretary of State for Management, Assistant Secretary of State for Administration Joyce Anne Barr, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Michele Bond and Ambassador Gentry Smith, director of the Office of Foreign Missions. All four of the officials served under both Democratic and Republican administrations. The State Department officials join a growing number of civil servants who have left since Mr Trump took office last week. Rex Tillerson refuses to rule out Muslim registry. Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security ...

15 Official Vehicles Stolen From State Dept., Prosecutors Charge

... shipment, repairs or assignment. [ Diplomat security becomes major State Department expense ]. James Ratcliffe, 67, leaving federal court in the District on Thursday. ( Spencer S. Hsu/The Washington Post). All but two of the stolen vehicles — “essentially unused” 2013 Suburbans, a black one and a white one, together valued at $96,400 — were sold by Ratcliffe for a profit, along with truckloads of tires and wheels, prosecutors said in charging papers. Ratcliffe, of Fairfax Station, pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to defraud the government, punishable by a statutory maximum of five years in prison, although a plea agreement said federal guidelines would call for a sentence of 18 to 24 months. The scheme allegedly brought Ratcliffe $408,520. The vehicles were sold from a Springfield shop that did maintenance work for the department and where Ratcliffe was a manager and previous owner, prosecutors said. The vehicles were kept at the home ...

Several Career Diplomats Have Resigned From The State Department

... former assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, and Gregory Starr, the assistant secretary for diplomatic security. Starr retired on Inauguration Day as did Lydia Muniz, a non-career political appointee who had run Overseas Building Operations. Trump has yet to fill many top diplomatic jobs, including the deputy secretary roles. His nominee to be secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate next week. Kennedy was relied upon by both Democrats and Republicans. He was tapped for the undersecretary post in 2007 by President George W. Bush and stayed on throughout President Barack Obama's term. His position oversees the department's budget and finances, security, global facilities and consular services. Kennedy, a diplomat since 1973, was criticized for the department's insufficient security at the diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, where four Americans were killed in 2012. In testy congressional hearings, Kennedy defended then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's handling of the situation and insisted there was no "stand down" order to the U. S. military during the attack. Bureau records also showed ...

Trump Administration Choosing To Replace Several Senior State Department Diplomats

... Toner said. “No [Foreign Service] officer accepts a political appointment with the expectation that it is unlimited. And all officers understand that the president may choose to replace them at any time.”. In some cases, top diplomats are retiring rather than seek new assignments elsewhere at the State Department. Patrick F. Kennedy, the undersecretary for management at the State Department across several presidential administrations, was not asked to stay. Kennedy said that his last day will be Friday. The 44-year State Department veteran is retiring, following veteran diplomats overseeing the department’s operations in the Mideast and Europe, among other places. Former senior officials said Kennedy had wanted to remain in his post. He declined a request for comment. Kennedy has overseen a vast array of ...