Center for American Progress

Is the State Department Being Intentionally Gutted?
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Is the State Department Being Intentionally Gutted?

Michael Fuchs asks if the Department of State's role in shaping U.S. foreign policy is under threat by the Trump administration.

Amidst the public speculation of a State Department possibly in disarray, I know that officers at State are still hard at work. One example: I recently received in my email inbox Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s statement celebrating Saint Lucia’s National Day. That means that the Office of Caribbean Affairs in the bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs drafted the statement, ran it through the clearance process (which requires that other bureaus with equities approve the statement), and then most likely someone with authorization from the secretary’s office approved it.

The above excerpt was originally published in Just Security. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Michael Fuchs

Senior Fellow