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Department of State

See also Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Timeline

2016.12.13Tillerson visited the White House repeatedly to make sure ExxonMobil's competitors didn't gain an edge in the way Russia sanctions were enforced. bloomberg.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Russia, Conflicts of Interest)
2016.12.13What is the Russian Order of Friendship and why does Rex Tillerson have one? washingtonpost.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Conflicts of Interest, Russia)
2016.12.14Billions of dollars are at stake for ExxonMobil in one of Trump's biggest foreign policy decisions in the next few years and Tillerson's ties to Russia and oil are potentially huge conflicts of interest. vox.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Conflicts of Interest, Russia)
2016.12.20Trump’s presidential transition team asks State Department officials to disclose how much money it provides each year to international environmental groups. washingtonpost.com (See also Environment)
2016.12.22Trump transition team asks State Department to submit details of programs and jobs aimed at promoting gender equality. nytimes.com (See also Women)
2016.12.23Democrats on Capitol Hill press for access to tax returns from Rex Tillerson, Donald Trump’s Secretary of State nominee. wsj.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Conflicts of Interest)
2017.01.11Rex Tillerson's controversial foreign ties are likely to be a focus of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. theatlantic.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Conflicts of Interest)
2017.01.24Trump expected to sign several executive orders restricting immigration from Syria and six other Middle Eastern or African countries on Wednesday January 25. reuters.com (See also First 100 Days, Immigration, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Department of Homeland Security, Jeff Sessions)
2017.01.25Multiple senior officers resign their posts with the State Department as U.S. s diplomats express private concerns about foreign policy under Trump. washingtonpost.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Foreign Policy)
A handful of senior U.S. diplomats are resigning their posts during President Donald Trump’s first week on the job, creating more high-level openings that the new president must fill.
2017.01.26A number of career Foreign Service officers were informed this week that they will not be asked to stay on in senior or sensitive posts creating a leadership vacuum among the top ranks at the State Department. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Department of Homeland Security)
"Current and former senior officials were clear that the turnover is unusual even for a new administration"
2017.01.26The State Department’s entire senior administrative team, all career foreign service officers who've served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, just resigned. washingtonpost.com (See also Rex Tillerson)
2017.01.26The US State Department's four top management members resign. independent.co.uk (See also Rex Tillerson)
2017.01.26The entire State department management team was fired by Trump administration, despite earlier reports that they'd resigned. talkingpointsmemo.com (See also Rex Tillerson)
2017.01.29Trump's state department purge has left a gaping hole at the heart of US diplomacy sparking worries of 'know-nothing approach' to foreign policy theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Rex Tillerson)
2017.01.30Majority of State Dept has been fired and sits empty. Bannon and Miller now rule the country unchecked. Judges' orders ignored by DHS. twitter.com (See also First 100 Days, Steve Bannon, Steve Miller, Unprecedented Actions)
2017.01.30The 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)
2017.01.30Trump 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."
2017.01.30White House says more than 100 U.S. diplomats expressing dissent against Muslim immigration ban "should either get with the program or they can go." nytimes.com (See also Immigration, Muslim Immigration Ban)
2017.01.31State 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)
2017.02.01Rex 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)
2017.02.01Senate 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)
2017.02.03Last 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)
2017.02.16New 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)
2017.02.17State 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)
2017.02.22Rex 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)
2017.02.24Mexican 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)
2017.02.24The 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)
2017.02.28Trump proposal to cut budgets for State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development by 37% draws fierce criticism from lawmakers and foreign affairs experts. wsj.com (See also Foreign Policy, First 100 Days)
2017.03.03Secretary of State Rex Tillerson skips the State Department's release of its annual report on human rights. cnn.com (See also Rex Tillerson, First 100 Days)
2017.03.10Secretary 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)
2017.03.14NY 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)
2017.03.16Trump's budget proposal features massive cuts to the EPA and the State Department, along with programs promoting the arts, funding scientific research, and assisting the poor. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Environmental Protection Agency, Americans in Poverty)
$54 billion bump in defense spending would be offset by stripping money from more than 18 other agencies.
2017.03.29Rex 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)