Trump administration closes state department's office of analytic outreach
A state department intelligence program that linked government analysts with outside experts has been quietly closed, part of the latest chapter of Donald Trump's disengagement with the broader academic and research community.
The office of analytic outreach, part of the department's bureau of intelligence and research, held its final event on 22 May before closing permanently, according to an internal email seen by the Guardian, as part of Marco Rubio's sweeping reorganization that will cut 15% of domestic staff and shutter 132 of the department's 734 offices and bureaus.
'I am devastated we are not allowed to continue,' program officer Greg Otey wrote in the email. 'We have experienced staggering growth in demand over the last few years with events now regularly drawing audiences of over 200 analysts and policymakers from across the federal government.'
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The closure comes as the Trump administration targets programs it claims do not align with presidential priorities or that 'represent radical causes'.
The shutdown eliminates another mechanism to enlist external expertise into government analysis, with the program serving as the intelligence community's lead for connecting government leaders with academic experts, thinktanks and research institutions on foreign policy. It organized briefings for newly confirmed ambassadors and arranged analytic exchanges designed to inform executive branch policymakers.
The shuttering of the program also reflects broader tensions within the Trump administration over the role of outside expertise in government decision-making. The US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, threatened on Tuesday to ban government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals, calling the Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine and Jama 'corrupt' and pledging to create state-run alternatives instead.
The state department did not respond to a request for comment.
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