Tag Archives: State Department

Politico reports: The State Department is eliminating the Office of Global Change, which oversees international climate change negotiations for the United States. Staff were told about the move verbally Thursday afternoon, according to three people who were granted anonymity to speak about the decision to avoid reprisal. The news thrust the office into chaos and raised questions among staff about …

The Washington Post reports: Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a plan Tuesday to significantly reorganize the State Department, saying the redesign would reverse “decades of bloat and bureaucracy” within the agency. The effort targets some human rights programs and others focused on war crimes and democracy, according to internal documents shared with The Washington Post. One document purporting to …

The New York Times reports: A draft of a Trump administration executive order proposes a drastic restructuring of the State Department, including eliminating almost all of its Africa operations and shutting down embassies and consulates across the continent. The draft also calls for cutting offices at State Department headquarters that address climate change and refugee issues, as well as democracy …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Friday partially blocked the Trump administration from enacting a policy that bans the use of “X” marker used by many nonbinary people on passports as well as the changing of gender markers. U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, sided with the American Civil Liberties Union’s motion …

Via press release from the State Department: Freedom of speech and expression have been a cornerstone of what it means to be an American citizen. For centuries, the United States served as a beacon of hope for millions of people around the world. Over the last decade though, individuals in America have been slandered, fired, charged, and even jailed for …

The New York Times reports: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his aides shut down a State Department office on Wednesday that tracks and counters global disinformation from foreign actors, including the governments of China, Russia and Iran, U.S. officials said. The closing of the office, the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Hub, had been in the works for …

Politico reports: The proposal for fiscal 2026 would allocate $28.4 billion to State and USAID, down from $54.4 billion in the enacted fiscal 2025 budget. That includes cuts demanded by the White House Office of Management and Budget. The proposal would eliminate or substantially cut numerous programs, including ones that promote democracy, support educational and cultural exchanges, fight drug trafficking …

The Guardian reports: Pete Marocco, the Trump administration official who played a major role in dismantling the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has left the State Department, a US official said on Sunday. “Pete was brought to state with a big mission – to conduct an exhaustive review of every dollar spent on foreign assistance. He conducted that historic …

Politico reports: The Trump administration has ordered State Department employees to report on any instances of coworkers displaying “anti-Christian bias” as part of its effort to implement a sweeping new executive order on supporting employees of Christian faith working in the federal government. The department, according to a copy of an internal cable obtained by POLITICO, will work with an …

The Associated Press reports: Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests. The …

Bloomberg News reports: President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday elevated El Salvador’s travel safety designation to the best possible, putting it above countries in Western Europe, before President Nayib Bukele’s visit to the White House next week. “Exercise normal precautions in El Salvador,” the State Department said in its updated travel advisory. “Gang activity has decreased over the last three …

CBC News reports: The United States is revoking all visas for South Sudanese passport holders and blocking new arrivals, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday, complaining the African nation is not accepting its nationals expelled from the U.S. The State Department “is taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and prevent further issuance to …

Reuters reports: Former Costa Rican President and Nobel Prize winner Oscar Arias said on Tuesday that the U.S. had revoked his visa to enter the country, weeks after he criticized U.S. President Donald Trump on social media saying he was behaving like “a Roman emperor.” Arias, 84, was president between 1986 and 1990 and again between 2006 and 2010. A …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration intends to terminate the United States’ financial support for Gavi, the organization that has helped purchase critical vaccines for children in developing countries, saving millions of lives over the past quarter century, and to significantly scale back support for efforts to combat malaria, one of the biggest killers globally. A spokesperson for …

Politico reports: The Trump administration is slashing the State Department’s annual human rights report — cutting sections about the rights of women, the disabled, the LGBTQ+ community and more. The goal appears to be a far thinner report that meets the minimum standards required by the law, according to documents obtained by POLITICO, as well as a current and a …

From the State Department’s official G7 transcript: QUESTION: If I can follow up. Mr. Secretary, I know that we’re not speaking about Canada becoming the 51st state at this meeting, but I’m asking you now: Do you consider what the President has said about Canada becoming the 51st state – is he serious? SECRETARY RUBIO: I’ll tell you how that …

CNN reports: Top acting State Department official deleted at least half a dozen tweets that ridiculed his now boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, including ones calling him “low IQ” and repeating a false rumor about Rubio’s sexuality. The deleted tweets from Darren Beattie, the acting under secretary of state for public diplomacy, were uncovered as part of a CNN …

Axios reports: Secretary of State Marco Rubio is launching an AI-fueled “Catch and Revoke” effort to cancel the visas of foreign nationals who appear to support Hamas or other designated terror groups, senior State Department officials tell Axios. The effort — which includes AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders’ social media accounts — marks a dramatic …

NBC News reports: U.S. embassies and consulates have stopped monitoring air quality abroad, ending a program that had provided essential public health data for more than a decade. The State Department said its collection of air pollution data at more than 60 U.S. embassies and consulates around the world had been suspended as of Tuesday due to “budget constraints.” The …

The New York Times reports: Starting Wednesday afternoon, a wave of emails went out from the State Department in Washington around the world, landing in inboxes for refugee camps, tuberculosis clinics, polio vaccination projects and thousands of other organizations that received crucial funding for lifesaving work. “This award is being terminated for convenience and the interest of the U.S. government,” …