Department of State
See also Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Timeline
| 2017.01.30 | The U.S. government has granted waivers to let 872 refugees into the country this week, despite Trump's Muslim Immigration ban executive order on Friday. reuters.com (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban, Department of Homeland Security) |
| 2017.01.30 | Trump faces growing state department mutiny against immigration ban as more than 200 diplomats sign ‘dissent’ memo criticizing executive order theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban, Sean Spicer) "The memo is being sent through the state department’s “dissent channel”, set up at the time of the Vietnam war to allow alternative points of view to be aired inside the institution. Under its foreign affairs manual, dissenters are strictly protected from reprisals, but the White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, warned the signers they should resign if they did not like the policy." |
| 2017.01.31 | State Dept. dissent cable, asserting that the president’s order on immigration will not make the nation safer, draws 1,000 signatures, has wended through dozens of embassies and is still spreading. mobile.nytimes.com (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban, Immigration) |
| 2017.02.01 | Rex Tillerson is confirmed as Secretary of State in a 56-to-43 vote, an opposition record. nytimes.com (See also First 100 Days, Rex Tillerson, Unprecedented Actions) |
| 2017.02.01 | Senate confirms oil industry executive and friend of Russia Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State in 56-to-43 vote. washingtonpost.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Russia, Russian Meddling in Election) |
| 2017.02.03 | Last week, six top State Department officials were suddenly discharged by the White House—an Undersecretary, an acting Undersecretary, and four Assistant Secretaries amoung them Tom Countryman who served for 35 years. This is the full text of his retirement remarks. justsecurity.org (See also First 100 Days) |
| 2017.02.16 | New U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meets Russian counterpart at meeting on G20 foreign ministers summit in first high level contact between Russia and Washington since the inauguration. theguardian.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Russia) |
| 2017.02.17 | State Dept. lays off most of the career diplomats who serve as conduits between the Secretary's office and country bureaus in a move that many view as a sign that key foreign policy portfolios will be controlled directly by the White House. cbsnews.com (See also Foreign Policy, Rex Tillerson) |
| 2017.02.22 | Rex W. Tillerson arrives in Mexico with twin threats hanging over the frayed relationship between the two nations: Trump’s new orders to round up and deport immigrants who are in the United States illegally, and a separate effort to examine American aid to Mexico for possible use in paying for a border wall. nytimes.com (See also Rex Tillerson, First 100 Days, Mexico, Mexico Wall, Immigration) |
| 2017.02.24 | Mexican Interior Secretary does not mince words when speaking alongside Rex Tillerson and John Kelly in Mexico City Thursday, saying: "We do not agree on the different measures that recently were stated by the government of the United States (that) affect Mexico." cnn.com (See also First 100 Days, Rex Tillerson, John Kelly, Department of Homeland Security, Mexico) |
| 2017.02.24 | The Trump administration has largely benched the State Department from its long-standing role as the preeminent voice of U.S. foreign policy, curtailing public engagement, daily briefings, and official travel and keeping Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a mostly offstage role. washingtonpost.com (See also Rex Tillerson, First 100 Days) |
| 2017.03.10 | Secretary of State is normally the most important position in the cabinet, but Rex Tillerson has had little impact on the Trump administration so far due to a lack of power coming from any of the five typical sources: backing from the president, advice and support from his or her department’s career officials, admiration from and alliances with other leaders in the government, praise from the press and public, and positive evaluations of his or her competence and power by foreign diplomats. foreignpolicy.com (See also Rex Tillerson) |
| 2017.03.14 | NY Attorney General accuses Secretary of State Rex Tillerson of using the pseudonym "Wayne Tracker" to send emails related to climate change while serving as CEO of Exxon Mobil. money.cnn.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Environment, Climate Change) |
| 2017.03.29 | Rex Tillerson notifies Congress and The State Department he intends to waive human rights conditions attached to the sale of fighter jets to Bahrain. cnn.com (See also Rex Tillerson) |
| 2017.06.17 | In the feud among nations in the Persian Gulf, Trump has supported those with which he does business, criticizing Qatar, differing sharply from the positions of the Pentagon and State Department. nytimes.com (See also Corruption, Conflicts of Interest, Saudi Arabia, Foreign Policy, Rex Tillerson) |
| 2017.06.17 | The White House plans to work with House Republicans on administration-friendly changes to the Senate’s overwhelmingly bipartisan bill (98-2) that slaps new sanctions on Russia and curbs Trump’s power to ease penalties against Moscow. politico.com (See also Russia, Russian Meddling in Election, Rex Tillerson) |
| 2017.06.19 | Dozens of young minority and female State Department recruits received startling news that they would not be able to soon join the Foreign Service despite having been promised that opportunity. washingtonpost.com (See also Rex Tillerson) |
| 2017.06.27 | The White House issued a statement Monday evening threatening to exact "a heavy price" in response to a potential chemical attack by the Syrian government, but senior national security officials were caught off guard and had no idea a statement was coming that threatened military action - a major step. nbcnews.com (See also Administration Errors, Syria, Rex Tillerson, Nikki Haley) |
| 2017.08.02 | Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is resisting the pleas of State Department officials to spend nearly $80 million allocated by Congress for fighting terrorist propaganda and Russian disinformation. politico.com (See also Russian Meddling in Election, Rex Tillerson) |
| 2017.08.06 | Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has failed to nominate anyone to most of the department’s 38 highest-ranking jobs, leaving many critical departments without direction or a coherent foreign policy. nytimes.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Assaults on Government) |
| 2017.10.01 | Donald Trump undercut his own secretary of state, calling his effort to open lines of communication with North Korea a waste of time, and seeming to rule out a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear-edged confrontation with Pyongyang, just a day after Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson said he was reaching out in hopes of starting a new dialogue. nytimes.com (See also Rex Tillerson, North Korea, Unpresidential Behavior) |
| 2017.10.04 | Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on the verge of resigning this past summer amid mounting policy disputes and clashes with the White House, openly disparaging Donald Trump, referring to him as a "moron." nbcnews.com (See also Rex Tillerson) |
| 2017.10.11 | Donald Trump said he wanted what amounted to a nearly tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal during a gathering this past summer of the nation’s highest-ranking national security leaders, leading to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calling him a "moron." nbcnews.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Foreign Policy, Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, Mike Pence, Steven Mnuchin) |