Trump Wants to Quiz State Department Staff to Make Sure They're MAGA
The new foreign service exam will require 'alignment with the president's foreign policy vision' if staff want to keep their jobs or be hired, the draft said, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg reports the order will be 'one of the biggest reorganizations of the department since its founding in 1789' should President Donald Trump sign it into effect.
The 16-page draft, which has circulated among American diplomats in recent days, also calls for the elimination of the Bureau of African and the closure of 'unnecessary' embassies in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The New York Times, which also viewed the draft, reports the Trump administration hopes to have a 'significantly reduced' state department presence in Canada. That would include shrinking U.S. embassy staff in Ottawa and the creation of a new North American affairs office under the authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
If Trump signs the executive order, it will also eliminate the position of special envoy for climate.
Rubio denied the draft executive order even existed on Sunday, calling the Times story 'fake news,' claiming the paper had fallen 'victim to another hoax.'
Bloomberg reports that the Fulbright Scholars program, which the department administers, will not exist in its current form should the draft take effect. Instead of funding the education of thousands of undergraduate and graduate students in fields like fine arts, social sciences, mathematics, humanities, and more, it would be recast as 'solely for master's-level study in national security-related disciplines.' The draft said priority will be 'given to programs with intensive instruction in critical languages' like Mandarin, Russian, Farsi, and Arabic.
The order does not call exclusively for cuts. The Times reports the order would add the position of 'under secretary for transnational threat elimination,' who would oversee counternarcotics policy and other issues.
The draft also outlined a change to how the Foreign Service relocates its personnel. Instead of staff being rotated to posts around the globe, the department would now require staff to select a single region to remain in for the duration of their careers to 'maximize expertise.'
Those not on board with the sweeping changes would have until Sept. 30 to accept a buyout offer if the executive order is signed, the Times and Bloomberg reported.
Such changes are not entirely unexpected. Another memo has circulated this month that laid out sweeping changes to the state department, including the closure of embassies and consulates across Europe, which has some Trump donors 'concerned' they are going to lose their posh new diplomatic digs.
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USA Today
13 minutes ago
- USA Today
Force Design 2028 will expand Coast Guard's national security capabilities
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Since Jan. 21, its national security role has taken on greater focus as the Trump administration beefed up military forces along the U.S. land and maritime borders to thwart illicit and illegal activities and stop inflows of dangerous drugs and unauthorized people. In the first three-plus months of the new administration, Coast Guard personnel detained more than 860 aliens and stopped as much illicit cocaine as was interdicted at sea during fiscal 2024, Adm. Kevin E. Lunday told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security on May 14. 'We surged forces, tripling the number of forward-deployed air and surface assets in that area.' Off Southern California, for example, migrant interdiction increased 54 percent between late January and early May, and 'this year, we are on track to exceed our bulk cocaine interdiction goal,' says Lt. Cmdr. Steve Roth, chief of media relations for the Coast Guard. 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We are on the edge of transformational change, and we will become a stronger, more capable and agile force to meet the challenges ahead,' Lunday said at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduation May 21 in New London, Connecticut. The Force Design executive report outlines numerous changes across its headquarters and the force. The Coast Guard plans to improve training systems, expand medical care access and modernize reserve and civilian management systems. It revamps organizational structures and decision-making processes. It aims to eliminate or minimize bureaucratic acquisition and contracting delays to get forces what they need faster. It wants to accelerate getting state-of-the-market technology that enhances data sharing, situational awareness and operational effectiveness. The campaign underscores the need for action, Roth says. 'The report makes an alarming assessment of the service's current state, describing it as facing a readiness crisis that is fragile … and on a path to failure, stemming from decades of under-investment, neglect and strategic drift,' he says. 'The report highlights a significant workforce shortage and aging assets on the verge of collapse, warning that, without change, the Coast Guard will fail. It proposes a bold and urgent transformation blueprint aimed at fundamentally changing the service from a reactive posture to a proactive strategy relying on innovation.' DHS Secretary Kristi Noem affirmed those commitments in remarks to the Academy's Class of 2025, adding: 'We're going to build a more agile, capable and responsive fighting force. A new chapter for America's Coast Guard, one like we have never seen before, starts right now,' Noem said. 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USA Today
13 minutes ago
- USA Today
Will Zelenskyy give up land to Putin? Live updates on White House showdown
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"I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance. Russia must end this war, which it itself started," he said. What time does Trump meet with Zelenskyy? Trump and his team are scheduled to meet with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team initially, before a later meeting with a group of European leaders who assembled discuss how to deal with Russia's President Vladimir Putin. The European leaders are set to arrive at the White House at noon, an hour before Zelenskyy's arrival. Trump and Zelenskyy will meet in the Oval Office at 1:15 p.m. Trump will then greet a group of European leaders in the State Dining Room at 2:15 p.m. The group is expected to pose for a picture at 2:30 p.m. Trump will meet with all the European leaders at 3 p.m. in the East Room. -Bart Jansen Zelenskyy: Putin seeks to 'humiliate diplomatic efforts' President Donald Trump's meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that could help shape the direction of Russia's war is still hours away. Ahead of that, Zelenskyy said that Russia's President Vladimir Putin was trying to "humiliate diplomatic efforts" after Moscow overnight launched dozens of drones and fired four missiles at Ukraine, killing at least 10 people. "The Russian war machine continues to destroy lives despite everything," Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post. "Putin will commit demonstrative killings to maintain pressure on Ukraine and Europe." - Kim Hjelmgaard European leaders rush to Washington for emergency summit Zelenskyy came to Washington alone last time he was in the U.S. capital. This time he's bringing loads of backup. French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte are also flying in. They'll arrive at the White House before Zelenskyy and wait in the wings until his meeting with Trump is finished, The show of force from European leaders comes on the heels of a summit Trump held for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska that neither they nor Zelenskyy were invited to participate in. Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin and touted the strength of their relationship after the Aug. 15 meeting. 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Russia has reneged on written agreements with Ukraine in the past, and that is why the country is seeking security commitments from America and its allies. Rubio said on Fox News that such a promise 'would be a huge concession' by Trump and he was still weighing his options. 'It would be a very big move by the President if he were to offer a U.S. commitment to a security guarantee,' Rubio said. 'If he does it, it tells you how badly he wants peace.' Trump adviser says 'land swap' a fundamental issue In addition to security guarantees, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said that Russia agreed to security guarantees for Ukraine that mimic the protections the country would receive if it were allowed to join NATO. Putin also said Russia would pass legislation stating it will not go after additional territory in Ukraine or violate any European country's sovereignty once a peace deal is codified. 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The Hill
13 minutes ago
- The Hill
Military leaders must resist Trump's politically motivated invasion of cities
Here's a thought experiment. What would happen if we put thousands of heavily armed soldiers into the streets of major American cities to enforce laws and deal with civil unrest, even though the troops had no significant training in either regard? And what would happen if citizens held mass demonstrations against this affront to their constitutional rights of speech and assembly, despite the protesters having little or no training in nonviolent resistance? We know the answer because it happened at Kent State University in 1970. Here is another scenario. What would happen if armed provocateurs showed up in this volatile mix, intending to trigger a second civil war in America? We know the answer. We saw an example on Jan. 6, 2021, when Proud Boys and several other extremist groups provoked violence during a riot at the Capitol. Today, President Trump is engaged in his own experiment — a dangerous performative political stunt in which he's federalized the National Guard and deployed regular U.S. troops to cities run by Democrats. How do we know it's performative? Because he's threatening to invade only blue states and cities. His law-and-order excuse is implausible. Few Americans have shown more contempt for law and order than the four-times indicted, twice impeached, 34-times convicted president — the first felon to occupy the White House. A law-and-order president would not have granted sweeping clemency to nearly 1,600 people charged with, convicted of, or pleading guilty to participating in the Jan. 6 riot. A president committed to law and order would not egregiously violate the nation's statutes and the Constitution. Sadly, we have come to expect such behavior from Trump. He is the thug he accuses others of being. The real disappointment at this moment is the U.S. military's capitulation to Trump's latest stunt. Prior to last year's election, Trump made no secret of his intentions. He has threatened to deploy the military against civilians — a decision generally prohibited by the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 — since at least March 2023, suggesting he would use federal troops in urban 'crime dens.' 'You're supposed to not be involved in that, you just have to be asked by the governor or the mayor to come in (but) the next time, I'm not waiting,' Trump said during a rally in Iowa. Before last year's election, Trump told Time magazine he endorsed using the military and building a migrant detention camp to remove more than 11 million people from the country. During a speech on June 1, 2020, Trump urged governors to deploy the National Guard to 'dominate the streets' against people protesting the murder of George Floyd. He threatened to deploy the military if governors didn't act. Meanwhile, protestors gathered in the park across the street from the White House to protest the Floyd murder. Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to clear the park. Then, Trump and a coterie of administration officials strode into the park for a photo op of Trump holding a Bible. They were joined by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, dressed in battle fatigues. But Milley realized he was being used as a political prop and left the event. A cursory investigation concluded a year later that the police did not clear the park specifically for Trump's photo op, but it was widely condemned as a violation of the protesters' constitutional right to assemble. Milley apologized publicly and profusely. He said his appearance in uniform 'sparked a national debate about the role of the military in civil society. I should not have been there. My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.' While addressing graduates at the National Defense University, Milley urged the future military officers to remain apolitical. Today's military leaders should take his advice if they expect the armed services to maintain the public's respect. In 2024, conducted its own thought experiment about what would happen if Trump sent active-duty troops to 'quash protests on American soil.' 'In speaking with more than a dozen Pentagon officials as well as outside experts,' the article said, 'what emerged was a landscape where few concrete legal protections exist to prevent an abuse of power by a president, especially if that president chooses to lean on the Insurrection Act, a vaguely worded law originally passed in 1792.' But, it continued, 'uniformed commanders also have a specific obligation to reject an order that's unlawful.' Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, soldiers are not obligated to obey unlawful orders. An international court made the same determination after World War II when it rejected the 'Nuremberg defense,' the argument by Adolf Hitler's officers that they were just following orders when committing war crimes or crimes against humanity. Why is this important? Although Trump is in office, the U.S. military might be the last line of defense for protecting our democratic republic, since Congress and the courts have largely capitulated to his autocratic rule. What happens if top military officers and next year's voters don't stand up to Trump? We can ask the nearly 6 million people, more than 70 percent of the world's population, what their lives are like under authoritarian rule. America is on a slippery slope to join them. William S. Becker Presidential Climate Action Project.
