Head of US Africa bureau urges staff to highlight US ‘generosity’ despite aid cuts

Email sent to diplomats by state department office’s new boss is labelled ‘racist’ after dismissing Africa as a priority US diplomats have been encouraged to “unabashedly and aggressively” remind African governments about the “generosity” of the American people, according to a leaked email sent to staff in the US state department’s Bureau of African Affairs … [Read more…]

The State Department Launches ‘America First’ Rebranding Initiative Amid Comprehensive Overhaul

Today marks the first day of the State Department’s America First foreign assistance rebranding initiative, led by Marco Rubio. Consistent branding will ensure contributions made by the the United States will be immediately recognized as American. “The redesign is very simple, and that was to recenter and re-anchor the visual identity of American efforts overseas in the … [Read more…]

State Dept. layoffs led by team of outsiders willing to ‘break stuff’

Interviews with more than 60 people detail a frenetic, arbitrary process underpinning the Trump administration’s far-reaching overhaul. The Trump administration’s dramatic reorganization of the State Department, including this month’s firing of more than 1,300 workers, was engineered primarily by a handful of political appointees lacking extensive diplomatic experience and chosen for their “fidelity” to the president … [Read more…]

State Department tells staff planned layoffs to begin soon

WASHINGTON – The State Department will start sending notices to members of its workforce impacted by the reorganization soon, the agency’s top official for management said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump‘s administration moves ahead with its plans to overhaul the U.S. diplomatic corps and cut jobs. “Soon, the Department will be communicating to individuals affected by the reduction in force,” Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources … [Read more…]

US state department told to end nearly all its overseas pro-democracy programs

All but two of the programs awarded under the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor would be cut, affecting nearly $1.3bn in grants. The US state department has been advised to terminate grants to nearly all remaining programs awarded under the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), which would effectively end the … [Read more…]