State Department cyber, tech cuts deeper than previously known
'They have lost people with genuine expertise … in cyber, in 5G, in quantum, a whole group of people who had really exquisite skills,' Coons said. Asked to quantify the extent of cuts to the cybersecurity workforce, Coons said: 'My impression is: significant.'
The cuts to cyber and tech roles at State have gone beyond the CDP. Also laid off have been staff involved in ensuring the use of secure telecommunications infrastructure by allies; and those that worked to fix problems Cyber Command identifies in the networks of U.S. allies, said Annie Fixler, director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, who has been in contact with a number those laid off.
The congressional aide said that 'around half a dozen' of the staff from the Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technologies — which works on topics including AI and quantum computing — were given RIF notices, representing a 'sizeable proportion' of the small office. This aide said this office is now being merged into the CDP.
It has become increasingly clear over the past few days that the reorganized State Department will have very few cybersecurity positions.
The Washington Post first reported earlier this week that CDP personnel had been among those laid off, in particular those on teams that focus on global data policy.
The former official confirmed that Liesyl Franz, the CDP's deputy assistant secretary for International Cyberspace Security was among those laid off. Her departure was previously reported by NextGov. Franz did not respond to a request for comment.
The entire Office of Science and Technology Cooperation has also been shut down, according to a laid-off employee. Felicia Fullilove-Cashwell, a foreign affairs officer at the State Department, wrote on LinkedIn that her reduction in force letter included the words 'office abolished.'
Fullilove-Cashwell said in an interview that 'it has been suggested that regional offices may take over a lot of the functions of eliminated offices,' though she argued that eliminating OSTC still hurts the relationships between civil servants and foreign officials. The elimination of OSTC was previously reported by FedScoop.
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NBC News
7 hours ago
- NBC News
U.S. government analysis found no evidence of massive Hamas theft of Gaza aid
WASHINGTON — An internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the U.S. give for backing a new armed private aid operation. The analysis, which has not been previously reported, was conducted by a bureau within the U.S. Agency for International Development and completed in late June. It examined 156 incidents of theft or loss of U.S.-funded supplies reported by U.S. aid partner organizations between October 2023 and this May. It found 'no reports alleging Hamas' benefited from U.S.-funded supplies, according to a slide presentation of the findings seen by Reuters. A State Department spokesperson disputed the findings, saying there is video evidence of Hamas looting aid, but provided no such videos. The spokesperson also accused traditional humanitarian groups of covering up 'aid corruption.' A White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, questioned the existence of the analysis, saying no State Department official had seen it and that it 'was likely produced by a deep state operative' seeking to discredit President Donald Trump's 'humanitarian agenda.' The findings were shared with the USAID's inspector general's office and State Department officials involved in Middle East policy, said two sources familiar with the matter, and come as dire food shortages deepen in the devastated enclave. Israel says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being stolen by Hamas, which it blames for the crisis. The U.N. World Food Program says nearly a quarter of Gaza's 2.1 million Palestinians face famine-like conditions, thousands are suffering acute malnutrition, and the World Health Organization and doctors in the enclave report starvation deaths of children and others. The U.N. also estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food supplies, the majority near the militarized distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the new private aid group that uses a for-profit U.S. logistics firm run by a former CIA officer and armed U.S. military veterans. The study was conducted by the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) of USAID, which was the largest funder of assistance to Gaza before the Trump administration froze all U.S. foreign aid in January, terminating thousands of programs. It has also begun dismantling USAID, whose functions have been folded into the State Department. The analysis found that at least 44 of the 156 incidents where aid supplies were reported stolen or lost were 'either directly or indirectly' due to Israeli military actions, according to the briefing slides. Israel's military did not respond to questions about those findings. The study noted a limitation: because Palestinians who receive aid cannot be vetted, it was possible that U.S.-funded supplies went to administrative officials of Hamas, the Islamist rulers of Gaza. One source familiar with the study also cautioned that the absence of reports of widespread aid diversion by Hamas 'does not mean that diversion has not occurred.' The war in Gaza began after Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Nearly 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli assault began, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel says Hamas diverts aid Israel, which controls access to Gaza, has said that Hamas steals food supplies from U.N. and other organizations to use to control the civilian population and boost its finances, including by jacking up the prices of the goods and reselling them to civilians. Asked about the USAID report, the Israeli military told Reuters that its allegations are based on intelligence reports that Hamas militants seized cargoes by 'both covertly and overtly' embedding themselves on aid trucks. Those reports also show that Hamas has diverted up to 25% of aid supplies to its fighters or sold them to civilians, the Israeli military said, adding that GHF has ended the militants' control of aid by distributing it directly to civilians. Hamas denies the allegations. A Hamas security official said that Israel has killed more than 800 Hamas-affiliated police and security guards trying to protect aid vehicles and convoy routes. Their missions were coordinated with the U.N. Reuters could not independently verify the claims by Hamas and Israel, which has not made public proof that the militants have systematically stolen aid. GHF also accuses Hamas of massive aid theft in defending its distribution model. The U.N. and other groups have rejected calls by GHF, Israel and the U.S. to cooperate with the foundation, saying it violates international humanitarian principles of neutrality. In response to a request for comment, GHF referred Reuters to a July 2 Washington Post article that quoted an unidentified Gazan and anonymous Israeli officials as saying Hamas profited from the sales and taxing of pilfered humanitarian aid. Aid groups required to report losses The 156 reports of theft or losses of supplies reviewed by BHA were filed by U.N. agencies and other humanitarian groups working in Gaza as a condition of receiving U.S. aid funds. The second source familiar with the matter said that after receiving reports of U.S.-funded aid thefts or losses, USAID staff followed up with partner organizations to try to determine if there was Hamas involvement. Those organizations also would 'redirect or pause' aid distributions if they learned that Hamas was in the vicinity, the source said. Aid organizations working in Gaza also are required to vet their personnel, sub-contractors and suppliers for ties to extremist groups before receiving U.S. funds, a condition that the State Department waived in approving $30 million for GHF last month. The slide presentation noted that USAID partners tended to over-report aid diversion and theft by groups sanctioned or designated by the U.S. as foreign terrorist organizations — such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad — because they want to avoid losing U.S. funding. Of the 156 incidents of loss or theft reported, 63 were attributed to unknown perpetrators, 35 to armed actors, 25 to unarmed people, 11 directly to Israeli military action, 11 to corrupt subcontractors, five to aid group personnel 'engaging in corrupt activities,' and six to 'others,' a category that accounted for 'commodities stolen in unknown circumstances,' according to the slide presentation. The armed actors 'included gangs and other miscellaneous individuals who may have had weapons,' said a slide. Another slide said 'a review of all 156 incidents found no affiliations with' U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, of which Hamas is one. 'The majority of incidents could not be definitively attributed to a specific actor,' said another slide. 'Partners often largely discovered the commodities had been stolen in transit without identifying the perpetrator.' It is possible there were classified intelligence reports on Hamas aid thefts, but BHA staff lost access to classified systems in the dismantlement of USAID, said a slide. However, a source familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments told Reuters that they knew of no U.S. intelligence reports detailing Hamas aid diversions and that Washington was relying on Israeli reports. The BHA analysis found that the Israeli military 'directly or indirectly caused' a total of 44 incidents in which U.S.-funded aid was lost or stolen. Those included the 11 attributed to direct Israeli military actions, such as airstrikes or orders to Palestinians to evacuate areas of the war-torn enclave. Losses indirectly attributed to Israeli military included cases where they compelled aid groups to use delivery routes with high risks of theft or looting, ignoring requests for alternative routes, the analysis said.
New York Times
7 hours ago
- New York Times
Fired Speechwriter From First Trump Term Appointed to Lead the Institute of Peace
A senior State Department official who was fired as a White House speechwriter during the first Trump administration for attending a gathering of white supremacists has been appointed acting president of the U.S. Institute of Peace, according to the State Department. Darren Beattie, who will lead the institute, is responsible for leading 'public diplomacy outreach, which includes messaging to counter terrorism and violent extremism' at the State Department, according to its website. He will continue in that role, a State Department official said on Friday. Mr. Beattie did not immediately respond to questions about what his plans are for the Institute of Peace, an independent nonprofit that supports diplomatic solutions to global conflicts. It receives funding from Congress, but it is not a federal agency. Earlier this year, the Trump administration moved to gut the historically bipartisan entity as part of its wide-ranging effort to shrink the federal government. The administration and employees of the Department of Government Efficiency, the office formerly led by Elon Musk, seized control of the institute's building in March, citing an executive order from President Trump that ordered the institute to cut its staffing to a bare minimum. The confrontation, facilitated by Washington's Metropolitan Police Department, was one of the more shocking attempts by the administration to assert power over the capital's institutions. The institute's ousted staff sued, and a federal judge in May overturned both the takeover and the mass firings, calling the moves unlawful and a 'gross usurpation of power.' The headquarters, which had been transferred to the executive branch, was restored to the institute. But the administration appealed that ruling, and last month, a federal appeals court in Washington returned control of the building to the administration while the case was under review. A senior State Department official said in a statement on Friday that Mr. Beattie was appointed by the institute's board of directors, which includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Mr. Beattie drew scrutiny during Mr. Trump's first term. In 2018, Mr. Beattie was fired by the White House for attending a gathering with white nationalists two years prior. He had appeared on a panel with Peter Brimelow, the founder of the anti-immigrant site VDare, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled a 'hate website.' But in 2020, the White House appointed Mr. Beattie to a commission that helps preserve sites related to the Holocaust. The decision was criticized by the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish group. Mr. Beattie, who is Jewish, brushed off the criticism at the time. 'I consider it an honor to be attacked by the far-left ADL,' he said. Mr. Beattie, formerly a visiting professor at Duke University, also founded a website called Revolver News that has amplified conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. On his own social platforms, Mr. Beattie has also cheered on white nationalist views and inflammatory rhetoric on race. 'Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work,' he said on social media last year. Alan Feuer contributed reporting.
Politico
9 hours ago
- Politico
Academic with history of incendiary remarks to lead US Institute of Peace
'We look forward to seeing him advance President Trump's America First agenda in this new role,' the statement said. USIP has been in turmoil in recent months as the administration and its Department of Government Efficiency sought to close the organization and withhold funding. The State Department said the institute has in recent decades 'slipped in its mission' to provide research, analysis and training in diplomacy. In February, several dozen Democratic House members signed a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio opposing Beattie's appointment to his current role. They cited his 'white nationalist loyalties and public glorification of our adversaries' authoritarian systems,' which included praise of the Chinese Communist Party and dismissal of its campaign against the largely Muslim Uyghurs. Beattie also drew widespread condemnation for a 2024 social media post on X in which he wrote 'competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work.' Beattie, who previously served as a visiting instructor at Duke University, has since been at the forefront of the Trump administration's efforts to overhaul the State Department's Fulbright Program and shutter its Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Hub. Trump signed an executive order firing USIP President George Moose and most of USIP's board in February. The remaining board members, including Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, subsequently installed Department of Government Efficiency staffer Kenneth Jackson, as acting president. DOGE staffer Nate Cavanaugh later took over as acting president. The Trump administration laid off most of the embattled institute's staff in March following a tense standoff between USIP staffers and DOGE employees at the institute's headquarters. A federal judge subsequently blocked the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the organization, which was founded in 1984.
