State Department

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

... announcement. Morgan's departure comes a day after President Donald Trump announced plans to build a wall at the Mexican border and hire 5,000 Border Patrol agents. Another wave of departures by senior officials was reported by the Washington Post Thursday, who said the entire senior management team of the State Department resigned. Two senior administration officials have 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 ...

Trump Administration Choosing To Replace Several Senior State Department Diplomats

... when the White House changed hands. The Trump administration has opted to retain fewer than usual, State Department officials said, although it was not immediately clear whether it is a majority. Officials said the White House had accepted a “handful” of resignations this week, the first full workweek of the new administration, while deferring action on others. A U. S. flag and its shadow on the Harry S. Truman Building at the State Department in Washington in October 2014. (Larry Downing/Reuters). Separately, at the Department of Homeland Security, officials said Thursday that the chief of the U. S. Border Patrol was resigning after six months on the job, one day after Trump announced plans to ratchet up immigration enforcement and build a wall along the U. S.-Mexico border. At the State Department, all career diplomats running those offices, called bureaus, had submitted pro forma resignations that were effective upon the end of the Obama administration, spokesman Mark Toner said. “These positions are political appointments, and require the president to nominate and the Senate to confirm them ...

Reports On Climate Change Have Disappeared From The State Department Website

... the past few days. It’s the latest news in a week marked by reports of increasing oversight of federal agencies, including their communication around scientific issues. Archived versions of the State Department’s website as it appeared under the Obama administration indicate that links to climate reports no longer appear on the Web pages for both the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and the Office of Global Change. Links to pages on other environmental issues, such as marine conservation, remain intact. Several State Department Web pages housing individual Obama-era climate reports have also disappeared, including the 2014 U. S. Climate Action Report to the United Nations and several reports from the U. S.-China Climate Change Working Group, among others. These reports can still be accessed through the archives. The State Department has begun archiving other, non-climate parts of its site as well, and officials said this archiving process has taken place under previous administrations. “Administration-specific content that was posted to state.gov during President Obama’s tenure was ...

15 Official Vehicles Stolen From State Dept., Prosecutors Charge

... 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 where Ratcliffe, 67, and another unnamed conspirator who now owns the business live, court files state. They used the black Suburban with a dealer plate as their personal vehicle, ...

Pres. Trump’s Administration Asks Top State Department Officials To Leave

... off Barack Obama's inauguration weekend Saturday with a day of service, with the president and his family volunteering their efforts in Washington. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images). Pres. Trump’s administration asks top State Department officials to leave. The White House is pictured on January 19, 2013 in Washington DC. Americans kicked off Barack Obama's inauguration weekend Saturday with a day of service, with the president and his family volunteering their efforts in Washington. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images). WASHINGTON — Two senior administration officials said Thursday that President Donald Trump’s administration told four top State Department management officials that their services were no longer needed as part of an effort to “clean house” at Foggy Bottom. Patrick Kennedy, who served for nine years as the undersecretary for management, Assistant Secretaries for Administration and Consular Affairs Michele Bond and Joyce Anne Barr, and Ambassador Gentry Smith, director ...

Trump Team Narrowing Search For State Department’s No. 2 Official

... and USAID, transition officials said. Walsh was the leader of the State Department landing team during the transition. Over at the White House, more experts and officials have joined the National Security Council staff led by retired Gen. Michael T. Flynn. Victoria Coates , the longtime national security adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), has moved over to the White House to join the NSC’s “Strategic Initiatives Group.” That group also includes professor and former Breitbart editor Sebastian Gorka. Longtime senate staffer Christopher Ford has joined the NSC staff to work on non-proliferation and nuclear issues. Ford has served as chief council for the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Senate Banking Committee and most recently the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. During the George W. Bush administration, Ford was a deputy assistant secretary of state in the bureau of arms control and international security, then led ...

The State Department’s Entire Senior Administrative Team Just Resigned

... about new stories from Power Post. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. You’re all set. By Josh Rogin By Josh Rogin January 26 at 11:02 AM Follow @joshrogin. The Washington Post's Josh Rogin explains what the recent resignation of senior State Department management means for the agency going forward under the Trump administration. (Jorge Ribas, Adriana Usero/The Washington Post). Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s job running the State Department just got considerably more difficult. The entire senior level of management officials resigned Wednesday, part of an ongoing mass exodus of senior Foreign Service officers who don’t want to stick around for the Trump era. Tillerson was actually inside the State Department’s headquarters in Foggy Bottom on Wednesday, taking meetings and getting the lay of the land. I reported Wednesday morning that the Trump team was narrowing its search for his No. 2, and that it was looking to replace the State Department’s long-serving undersecretary for ...

221 Million Payment To Palestinians Halted By State Department

... payment and might make adjustments to ensure it comports with the Trump administration’s priorities. Kerry formally notified Congress that State would release the money Friday morning, just hours before President Donald Trump took the oath of office. Congress had 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 ...

Several Senior State Department Officials Leave Posts

... formally withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and on Wednesday he ordered construction of a wall on the border with Mexico and threatened to punish U. S. cities shielding illegal immigrants. Political appointees chosen by the president and confirmed by the Senate were obliged, as usual, after Trump's Nov. 8 election victory, to submit letters of resignation to give the new president the opportunity to name his own people to the jobs. Kennedy and Countryman were recently told their resignations had been accepted effective Friday, leaving their bureaus - one of which handles the department's management and the other which oversees arms control - in the hands of more junior officials. Gregory Starr, Assistant Secretary for State for Diplomatic Security and Michele Bond, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, are also leaving, officials said, though it was not clear under what circumstances or whether they were asked to step down by Friday. Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, former Exxon Mobil Corp chairman Rex Tillerson, ...