Diplomacy Crisis: Why Democrats Criticize the Work of the US Department of State and Secretary of State Pompeo

The work of the US State Department under the Donald Trump administration and under the leadership of Mike Pompeo was practically paralyzed, according to a report by Democrats from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The document was published ahead of the upcoming hearings in the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, in which the head of the State Department Mike Pompeo is to take part. 

The report, titled "Diplomacy Crisis: The Trump Administration Devastates the State Department," notes that a culture of disdain for diplomats has emerged in the US diplomatic service over the past few years.

“Civil servants who carry out their duties impartially are credited with belonging to the 'deep state', accused of trying to undermine the president's authority and are branded as 'radical bureaucrats who have not been elected'. For the past three and a half years, the Department of State has been plagued by recruitment suspensions, inept “reform” attempts, initiatives to cut agency funding by one-third, and prolonged vacancies. All this negatively affects its effectiveness, ”the authors of the report write.

The document also states that massive staff layoffs have weakened the State Department during the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, it is alleged that department officials do not report rule violations by Trump appointees for fear of retaliation.

Another topic is the lack of staffing in the department, including at the managerial level, as well as the slow filling of these vacancies. So, the document says that it took the Trump administration almost a year to present a candidacy for the post of deputy head of the State Department for arms control and another six months to find a replacement in the person of Marshall Billingsley.

Thus, for a total of two years out of Donald Trump's three years in power, the leading post of the person responsible for negotiations on strategic nuclear weapons with Russia remained vacant, the authors of the report note. There were also difficulties with filling the posts of Assistant to the Head of the State Department for European and Eurasian Affairs, ambassadors to Ukraine, Georgia and Estonia - three countries that, according to the authors of the document, are at the forefront of the fight against "Russian aggression."

In addition, the Trump administration often presented candidates with insufficient qualifications to work in the State Department for consideration.

“Due to the fact that certain positions remain vacant, and duties are performed temporarily, the ability of the United States to maintain an American presence in the world, conduct overseas operations and protect national security is severely limited. The shortage of senior staff in the Department of State, along with the intensity of staff outflow, leads not only to empty jobs. The result is a lack of US leadership on the world stage, ”the report says.

In many respects, the shortage of the US State Department is caused by the personnel leapfrog, which has already become the "highlight" of the Trump administration, said Konstantin Blokhin, an expert at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with RT.

“There are constant resignations and appointments of new officials, few were able to gain a foothold in the administration during this time. For example, national security advisers are being changed like gloves - in such a short period of time, four people have already been replaced in this post, ”the political scientist recalled.

Trump is accustomed to a peculiar style of work, as if he does not run the state, but a private campaign, Konstantin Blokhin commented on the situation.

“Trump was not originally a systemic politician and objectively has a limited number of connections in the elite. Therefore, recruiting is extremely limited. It is difficult for him to find people who would perform his duties the way he needs it, ”said the expert.

Out of control diplomacy

Democrats on the Senate International Affairs Committee blame President Donald Trump and the head of the department, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for the situation in the State Department.

“President Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo have left the Department of State devastated and demoralized. This is not a purely bureaucratic or Washington issue. We are talking about the real consequences for the United States and our national security, "- this is how Senator Bob Menendez, who heads the Democrats on the international affairs committee, commented on the release of the report.

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• © Tom Brenner

The Hill notes that at the Senate hearings with the participation of Pompeo, the topic of further cuts in the US State Department's budget proposed by the Trump administration for the 2021 fiscal year will be raised. In addition, the senators plan to sort out the dismissal of the Inspector General of the State Department Steve Linick, who allegedly conducted two checks in relation to Pompeo's activities as head of the department.

However, in the Foreign Ministry itself, they look differently at Pompeo's activities and believe that there are no problems in the State Department.

“From the very first day in office, Secretary Pompeo has been successful in promoting the interests and values ​​of the American people both domestically and around the world. The key to this success is a dynamic and talented team, which day after day is confidently moving towards a common goal and a common future, "the Politico edition quotes the State Department functionary.

The hearings with the participation of Mike Pompeo will not be easy, since he will have to clarify the situation with the dismissal of the State Department inspector, who was checking messages about dinner parties hosted by the Secretary of State at the expense of budgetary funds, Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in a conversation with RT.

“Pompeo used his two years in office to establish the political connections he needed to continue his political career. In particular, once every two weeks, he hosted gala dinners with representatives of the highest political society in America. This attracted the attention of Congress and Democrats, since the inspector of the department who was checking these messages was fired before he had time to submit his materials, ”said the expert.

In addition, Democratic senators can tie the issue of the many vacancies in the State Department to the fact that Pompeo and Trump select employees to the administration on the basis of personal loyalty, and not professional qualities, Vladimir Vasiliev noted.

Pre-election context

It is worth noting that accusations of dismantling the American diplomatic corps were also brought against Pompeo's predecessor, the first secretary of state of the Trump administration, the former head of the oil giant ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson.

Thus, The Atlantic wrote in 2018 that in the first eight months of Tillerson's tenure as head of the US Department of State, the staff of the department was reduced by almost 12%. In turn, the New Yorker magazine reported that Tillerson proposed cutting the State Department's budget by a third, laying off more than a thousand employees and cutting programs to support refugees, promote democracy and women's equality in other countries.

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• © Joshua Roberts

It was the desire to "shake up" the structure of the State Department, first by the hands of Tillerson, and then by Pompeo, that led to resistance and criticism from the American political establishment, Konstantin Blokhin noted in an interview with RT.

“The State Department is one of the most bureaucratic areas of the US government. People have been working there for decades, replacing themselves with their relatives ... When Trump announced his desire to drain the Washington swamp, it is clear that these people began to fight against him. It is clear that this was an ill-considered step. Usually this is done when you have already won. And Trump said this even before he started to work, "- said the expert.

According to Konstantin Blokhin, now political opponents of Donald Trump have raised the issue of his attitude towards the State Department ahead of the 2020 elections.

“It is clear that in the context of elections, any criticism of the administration is an additional plus for the Democrats,” the expert explained.

In turn, Vladimir Vasiliev believes that the senators from the Democratic Party want to deal a serious blow to the Trump administration, having achieved the departure of Mike Pompeo from the post of Secretary of State.

“The thing is that of all the people in the Trump administration, after the president himself, Pompeo plays a key role in it. He is the most famous figure, he is on everyone's lips. Dumping Pompeo is a very serious undertaking and a political victory, "the expert explained.