Marco Rubio is with the chainsaw. The State Department announced Thursday that personnel cuts and reorganization of the country's diplomatic corps are ready as part of the Trump administration decision to reduce the size of the federal government. A task entrusted to the Government Efficiency Department piloting Elon Musk.
Rubio's layoffs arrive a few days after the Supreme Court raid out the mass dismissals, although alive alive complaints against the cuts are still.
The decision, detailed in a document from the Undersecretary of State, Michael Rigas, cited by Bloomberg, It does not specify the number of employees of the State Department that would be fired.
At the end of May, informa Associated Press, The State Department notified Congress a reorganization plan that provided for a 18% reduction in the US personnel, even exceeding 15% initially proposed in April.
“The objective from the beginning was clear: to concentrate resources on political priorities and eliminate redundant functions,” Rigas said.
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on the other hand said Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malasia, where he attended the Annual Regional Forum of the Southeast Asian Nations Association: “It is not about trying to say goodbye to staff. But if the office closes, those positions are not needed. You have to understand that some of these positions are being eliminated, not people.”
The Rigas statement indicated that the department seeks to “focus resources on political priorities and eliminate redundant functions, empowering our staff and increasing accountability.”
The State Department plans to eliminate some divisions in charge of supervising the two decades of United States participation in Afghanistan, including an office dedicated to the resettlement of Afghan citizens who worked together with the US army. It also intends to eliminate programs related to refugees and immigration, as well as with the promotion of human rights and democracy.
The spokeswoman of the State Department, Tammy Bruce, said Thursday: “The recent decision of the Supreme Court allows the start of reorganization. The plan, approved by the secretary and developed with the extensive communication of the congress is in the process of implementation. It is about ensuring that the State Department can operate so that it is relevant and effective.”
“It will happen quickly,” Bruce said: “We understand that there has been a delay, not for us, but because of the courts. So it will be fast. I cannot advance the deadline.”
