Tillerson alone at the top as key State Department jobs remain unfilled

[Geee]

Washington Times:

Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson heads to Mexico City for a delicate diplomatic mission Wednesday, but he is going at a moment of tremendous uncertainty back at the office, where more than dozen key assistant secretary positions are still without even a proposed nominee from the White House.

Mr. Tillerson will travel with Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly and acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Francisco Palmieri. But he will otherwise have little backup because, a month into the Trump administration, there is still no deputy secretary of state, no new ambassador to Mexico and no clear sign of when those and other diplomatic positions will be filled.

 

The State Department’s press office and Mr. Tillerson’s office have declined to comment on the more than 100 management posts and foreign ambassadorships awaiting even a nominee, let alone a Senate confirmation. Just three ambassadors — to China, Israel and Britain — have been named.

Several officials, speaking on background Tuesday, rejected the image of Mr. Tillerson as a general who has no troops to lead into battle.

[Draggingtree]

making the state department great again

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By: Timothy G. Ryan | February 27, 2017

State Department Foreign Service Officers are an elite group. Well-educated, fluent in foreign languages, knowledgeable of foreign cultures, they help inform U.S. foreign policy and carry out its day-to-day implementation. Entry into the Foreign Service is highly competitive. Annually, over 20,000 hopefuls take the Foreign Service exam: in recent years the State Department has hired about 300. Foreign Service Officers gave a cordial welcome to Secretary Rex Tillerson, a chief executive with the skills to be an outstanding Secretary of State.

 

However, unless additional Trump appointees arrive soon to support the Secretary, aligning some elements within the Foreign Service with new the Administration's agenda will pose a challenge. As of late February 2017, the Administration had not sent to the Senate any nominations for the Deputy Secretary, Under Secretary or Assistant Secretary jobs at State. Secretary Tillerson will need a full team. For eight years, the Foreign Service has pushed Obama's leftist priorities. Obama's legacy at State includes a residue of toxic partisanship that has already lashed out against the Trump Administration. https://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/making-the-state-department-great-again/