| Some facts and figures to counter the posturing. |
[Yahoo] The State Department is hitting back at the growing bipartisan criticism of Rex Tillerson's leadership and accusations he is presiding over a debilitating brain drain of the nation's diplomatic corps. At the same time, it allowed that a lack of communication with employees about Tillerson's intent to reorganize the department had contributed to low morale.
In a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Republican chairman, the department said Tillerson's reorganization plans aren't crippling the agency as reports have claimed. Top ranks aren't being intentionally gutted through attrition, mass retirements and buyouts, it said, and a planned 8 percent reduction of its nearly 75,000 employees had been mandated by the Office of Management and Budget and is proceeding under that order.
In the letter, which was sent to Sen. Bob Corker late Thursday, the department said there are only 108 fewer foreign service officers now than in 2016. The tally is still 2,000 more than there were in 2008, it said.
It said a widely cited figure that 60 percent of diplomats at the highest level had left the foreign service since January is a "distortion" because only six people held the rank known as "career ambassador." Two remain, it said. Since 1980, only from one to seven career ambassadors have ever served at the same time.
Nevertheless, the letter seems unlikely to stem the criticism of Tillerson. Critics also point to departures of senior and mid-level foreign service officers and a hiring freeze of entry level diplomats that has been relaxed only to take on about 100 new employees in the current budget year. That's about a third of recent yearly intakes.
Democratic and Republican politicians also oppose Tillerson's proposal to cut the department's budget by nearly 30 percent, suggesting there will be rancorous exchanges on staffing levels in coming months.
The State Department feels the criticism is unfair. In its letter to Corker, the agency said there are only 20 fewer senior foreign service officers now than there were a year ago (1,048 compared with 1,068). This year's retirements are five fewer than in 2016, it said. Buyouts to induce early retirement of more than 600 diplomats are consistent with a directive to reduce the federal workforce.
It said reorganization is a work in progress, appealing for patience as officials make the department "more efficient and effective within a sustainable budget." |