Latest news with #JoshuaRoberts
Japan Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Fulbright board resigns citing interference by Trump administration
FILE PHOTO: The seal of the United States Department of State is seen in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo/File Photo By Ryan Patrick Jones All members of the board that oversees the U.S. State Department's Fulbright Program, which facilitates international educational exchanges, have voted to resign over alleged political interference from President Donald Trump's administration, the board said on Wednesday. The Trump administration had unlawfully "usurped the authority" of the board by denying awards to a "substantial number" of people who had already been selected for the 2025-2026 academic year through a yearlong, merit-based process, the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board said in a statement posted on the website Substack. The department is also putting another 1,200 Fulbright recipients through an "unauthorized review process" that could lead to more rejections, according to the statement. The board members chose to resign 'rather than endorse unprecedented actions that we believe are impermissible under the law, compromise U.S. national interests and integrity, and undermine the mission and mandates Congress established for the Fulbright program nearly 80 years ago," they said. A senior State Department official accused the board members of being partisan political appointees from the administration of former President Joe Biden and called their mass resignation a "political stunt" meant to undermine Trump. "It's ridiculous to believe that these members would continue to have final say over the application process, especially when it comes to determining academic suitability and alignment with President Trump's Executive Orders," the official said. The Fulbright program, which was established in 1946, sends U.S. graduate students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals abroad to study, conduct research or teach English in approximately 160 countries worldwide. The program awards approximately 8,000 competitive, merit-based grants each year in most academic disciplines and fields of study, according to its website. The New York Times reported the board had approved the applications of around 200 American professors and researchers who were set to work at universities and research institutions in other countries this summer, and the State Department was meant to send acceptance letters to the applicants in April. Instead, board members learned the department's Office of Public Diplomacy had begun sending rejection letters to the scholars based on the topics of their research. "The bipartisan Fulbright Board was mandated by Congress to be a check on the executive and to ensure that students, researchers and educators are not subjected to the blatant political favoritism that this Administration is known for," Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. "While I understand and respect the bipartisan Fulbright Board for resigning en masse rather than grant credibility to a politicized process, I'm painfully aware that today's move will change the quality of Fulbright programming and the independent research that has made our country a leader in so many fields," she added. Since taking office for his second term in January, Trump's administration has undertaken a major overhaul of the State Department, enacted massive funding cuts for academic research, and curbed visas for foreign students. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Fulbright board resigns citing interference by Trump administration
FILE PHOTO: The seal of the United States Department of State is seen in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo/File Photo All members of the board that oversees the U.S. State Department's Fulbright Program, which facilitates international educational exchanges, have voted to resign over alleged political interference from President Donald Trump's administration, the board said on Wednesday. The Trump administration had unlawfully "usurped the authority" of the board by denying awards to a "substantial number" of people who had already been selected for the 2025-2026 academic year through a yearlong, merit-based process, the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board said in a statement posted on the website Substack. The department is also putting another 1,200 Fulbright recipients through an "unauthorized review process" that could lead to more rejections, according to the statement. The board members chose to resign 'rather than endorse unprecedented actions that we believe are impermissible under the law, compromise U.S. national interests and integrity, and undermine the mission and mandates Congress established for the Fulbright program nearly 80 years ago," they said. The State Department didn't immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.. The New York Times reported the board had approved the applications of around 200 American professors and researchers who were set to work at universities and research institutions in other countries this summer, and the State Department was meant to send acceptance letters to the applicants in April. Instead, board members learned the department's Office of Public Diplomacy had begun sending rejection letters to the scholars based on the topics of their research. "The bipartisan Fulbright Board was mandated by Congress to be a check on the executive and to ensure that students, researchers and educators are not subjected to the blatant political favoritism that this Administration is known for," Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. "While I understand and respect the bipartisan Fulbright Board for resigning en masse rather than grant credibility to a politicized process, I'm painfully aware that today's move will change the quality of Fulbright programming and the independent research that has made our country a leader in so many fields," she added. The Fulbright program, which was established in 1946, sends U.S. graduate students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals abroad to study, conduct research or teach English in approximately 160 countries worldwide. The program awards approximately 8,000 competitive, merit-based grants each year in most academic disciplines and fields of study, according to its website. Since taking office for his second term in January, Trump's administration has undertaken a major overhaul of the State Department, enacted massive funding cuts for academic research, and curbed visas for foreign students. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
US State Department cable says agency using AI to help staff job panels
FILE PHOTO: The seal of the United States Department of State is seen in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department will use an artificial intelligence chatbot to help it select the people who will perform annual reviews of promotions and moves, according to a cable issued Monday and reviewed by Reuters. The cable said that StateChat, an in-house chatbot which works using technology from Palantir and Microsoft, will be employed to pick foreign service officers for participation on the Foreign Service Selection Boards, the annual evaluation panels which decide whether and how to promote and shuffle around State Department employees. In a statement, a department spokesperson said the evaluations themselves "will not be done by AI." The boards, whose role is governed by the 1980 Foreign Service Act, play a critical role in the State Department's personnel promotion decisions, managing the annual process by which diplomats and others jump from one professional grade to the next. By statute, the boards are meant to include "a substantial number of women and members of minority groups." The State Department has been using StateChat since last year to transcribe notes, draft emails, and analyze diplomatic cables. Last week the agency's acting chief data and AI officer, Amy Ritualo, told a Palantir conference that StateChat had about 40,000 users across her agency. The program's role in the human resources process, however, has not previously been disclosed. Last month the State Department abruptly postponed the boards, and previously selected members received emails saying their services were no longer required. Monday's cable said that StateChat's technology would instead be used to "perform unbiased selection" for the boards based on employees' internally adjudicated skill codes and grades. That list would then be screened - for example for disciplinary and security issues - before being used to create the panels. There was no mention of female or minority representation. President Donald Trump's administration has repeatedly attacked what Republicans refer to as "DEI," a catch-all term covering work protecting civil rights, fighting discrimination, and boosting diversity. The American Foreign Service Association, which represents State Department employees, did not directly comment on the use of AI but said it was seeking clarification from agency leadership about how it intends to comply with its legal obligations around women and minority group representation. Palantir and Microsoft didn't immediately return messages. Although the deployment of AI by officials precedes Trump's reelection in 2024, his administration has aggressively expanded its use since his return to power. Last month Reuters reported that tech tycoon Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service was expanding its use of the AI chatbot Grok across the U.S. federal government. In April, Reuters reported that Trump administration officials had told some U.S. government employees that DOGE was using AI to monitor at least one federal agency's communications for hostility to the president. (Reporting by Raphael Satter and Humeyra Pamuk; editing by Edward Tobin)
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reform UK prepares for real power on a council it now dominates
In a conference suite on the fourth floor of Lancashire County Council's headquarters, Joshua Roberts smiles as he is handed his new badge. The 27-year-old's photo ID includes his name and new title – Lancashire County Councillor – and hangs off a lanyard that's coincidentally in the trademark turquoise of Reform UK. Roberts runs a website and social media business and has never held elected office before, but now he's one of 53 Reform councillors responsible for running services on behalf of more than 1.2 million people across Lancashire. "I am new, but we've got experienced people too," he said. "I'm glad we're not all new because it would be very intimidating. "We've had really good officers who have helped us. We've got experienced county councillors who've helped us as well. I feel at ease, I feel like we're going to make real good change." Roberts and his colleagues were attending an induction day organised by council staff for newly elected councillors to get to grips with their roles. As well as collecting their lanyards and being assigned IT login details, there were officers on hand to talk through some aspects of council services and how the authority works. Reform UK makes big gains in English local elections Sir John Curtice: The map that shows Reform's triumph was much more than a protest vote Having taken 53 of the council's 84 seats the party has a significant majority. It marks a big change for a council which had been led by the Conservatives since 2017, and which had been dominated by the Tories and Labour for decades before that. While most of the newly elected have never been councillors before, there are some who bring experience – like Ged Mirfin, a Conservative councillor who switched to Reform UK six weeks before the elections. "We're getting very badly criticised at the moment for lacking political experience," he said. "But I've never seen a group of people who've had such a large amount of experience from the real world, the world of work." Lancashire County Council is one of 10 local authorities that Reform UK won outright control of at the local elections. Its performance in running the councils it now controls is being seen as a test of the party's ability to govern. The relatively new party has grown quickly, and there's been a push to put infrastructure in place. Following the local elections, more than 500 newly-elected councillors attended an event in London where a party source said they were "trained by hardened council veterans on how they can be the most effective champions for their local communities". Reform UK has been criticised for a lack of clarity about its plans for the councils it now runs. The party's leadership has signalled priorities will include reversing net zero initiatives and opposing diversity and inclusion policies. Local authorities have little control over immigration, but Reform's chairman Zia Yusuf has pledged to challenge the use of hotels to house migrants, while Nigel Farage has spoken of a "DOGE" for every council, referring to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, set up in the US to root out waste. In Lancashire, Cllr Stephen Atkinson is the council leader. He's one of Reform's new councillors who does come with experience, having previously been the Conservative leader of Ribble Valley council before defecting. Sitting in his office at the council's headquarters in Preston, he said the party wanted to "look at every line in the budget" before making decisions. "We need to look at the finances and understand what's happening," he said. "We're determined that this council will have a balanced budget. It will address some of the legacy issues such as special educational needs and development and adult social care. "But we don't want to get into how we are going to do that until we see how the money is." Lancashire County Council, like many authorities across England, has faced budget pressures with growing demand for adults and children services in particular. These services are often statutory, which means a council has to provide them by law, and they make up a significant proportion of the council's budget. Cllr Atkinson said: "Two thirds of the budget are on these legal services that you have to provide. That means there is one third that can be looked at… we've got to look at it and say if it helps residents great – if doesn't, why are we doing it? "That's the advantage of Reform – it's a fresh pair of eyes. We have 53 councillors of which 50 are new councillors. "They can see the wood from the trees, they bring that challenge. We do that professionally and in a collaborative manner – but that is a mandate we have to do that." The party is conscious of the scrutiny it will face as the new kids on the political block, who've talked up their own chances of getting the keys to Downing Street in a matter of years. Outside the first full meeting of Lancashire's new-look council there were protests, with trade unionists among those holding banners and placards reading "refugees welcome" and "say no to Reform UK", with speakers saying cutting "waste" would mean cutting services and jobs. Asked about people who are worried about cuts, Cllr Atkinson said: "If it affects residents, we'll try not to do it. It's some of the other things that don't affect residents. "But this is all conditional on the spending review in June. I hope the government will treat Reform councils fairly." Inside the council chamber, the block of Reform councillors vastly outnumbered the other parties as they took their seats to go through the official process of appointing the leader and cabinet - which is made up of all men. The Conservatives – who ran the council up until the elections in May – said so far there's little policy detail about Reform's plans. Group leader Aidy Riggott said: "Businesses will be sat waiting and wondering, especially those in maybe the clean energy sector or the renewable sector, wondering if Lancashire's a place where I can still invest my money." The independent and Green councillors who now make up the official opposition said they wanted to "hold Reform to account". Independent councillor Almas Razakazi added: "My ward is very impoverished. It's full of different nationalities, and lots of people who are immigrants and they put a lot into the economy, so I want to make sure they are properly represented and treated fairly." It is early days for Reform in power, and in Lancashire the party is keen to stress they want to work with officers from the council to take time before making policy decisions. The challenge is now whether the party can deliver on what they've promised - something many political parties have found is easier said than done.
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Reform UK prepares for real power on a council it now dominates
In a conference suite on the fourth floor of Lancashire County Council's headquarters, Joshua Roberts smiles as he is handed his new 27-year-old's photo ID includes his name and new title – Lancashire County Councillor – and hangs off a lanyard that's coincidentally in the trademark turquoise of Reform runs a website and social media business and has never held elected office before, but now he's one of 53 Reform councillors responsible for running services on behalf of more than 1.2 million people across Lancashire."I am new, but we've got experienced people too," he said. "I'm glad we're not all new because it would be very intimidating. "We've had really good officers who have helped us. We've got experienced county councillors who've helped us as well. I feel at ease, I feel like we're going to make real good change."Roberts and his colleagues were attending an induction day organised by council staff for newly elected councillors to get to grips with their well as collecting their lanyards and being assigned IT login details, there were officers on hand to talk through some aspects of council services and how the authority works. Having taken 53 of the council's 84 seats the party has a significant marks a big change for a council which had been led by the Conservatives since 2017, and which had been dominated by the Tories and Labour for decades before most of the newly elected have never been councillors before, there are some who bring experience – like Ged Mirfin, a Conservative councillor who switched to Reform UK six weeks before the elections."We're getting very badly criticised at the moment for lacking political experience," he said."But I've never seen a group of people who've had such a large amount of experience from the real world, the world of work." 'Hardened veterans' Lancashire County Council is one of 10 local authorities that Reform UK won outright control of at the local performance in running the councils it now controls is being seen as a test of the party's ability to relatively new party has grown quickly, and there's been a push to put infrastructure in the local elections, more than 500 newly-elected councillors attended an event in London where a party source said they were "trained by hardened council veterans on how they can be the most effective champions for their local communities".Reform UK has been criticised for a lack of clarity about its plans for the councils it now party's leadership has signalled priorities will include reversing net zero initiatives and opposing diversity and inclusion authorities have little control over immigration, but Reform's chairman Zia Yusuf has pledged to challenge the use of hotels to house migrants, while Nigel Farage has spoken of a "DOGE" for every council, referring to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, set up in the US to root out waste. In Lancashire, Cllr Stephen Atkinson is the council one of Reform's new councillors who does come with experience, having previously been the Conservative leader of Ribble Valley council before in his office at the council's headquarters in Preston, he said the party wanted to "look at every line in the budget" before making decisions."We need to look at the finances and understand what's happening," he said."We're determined that this council will have a balanced budget. It will address some of the legacy issues such as special educational needs and development and adult social care. "But we don't want to get into how we are going to do that until we see how the money is."Lancashire County Council, like many authorities across England, has faced budget pressures with growing demand for adults and children services in services are often statutory, which means a council has to provide them by law, and they make up a significant proportion of the council's budget. 'The wood from the trees' Cllr Atkinson said: "Two thirds of the budget are on these legal services that you have to provide. That means there is one third that can be looked at… we've got to look at it and say if it helps residents great – if doesn't, why are we doing it?"That's the advantage of Reform – it's a fresh pair of eyes. We have 53 councillors of which 50 are new councillors. "They can see the wood from the trees, they bring that challenge. We do that professionally and in a collaborative manner – but that is a mandate we have to do that."The party is conscious of the scrutiny it will face as the new kids on the political block, who've talked up their own chances of getting the keys to Downing Street in a matter of the first full meeting of Lancashire's new-look council there were protests, with trade unionists among those holding banners and placards reading "refugees welcome" and "say no to Reform UK", with speakers saying cutting "waste" would mean cutting services and jobs. Asked about people who are worried about cuts, Cllr Atkinson said: "If it affects residents, we'll try not to do it. It's some of the other things that don't affect residents."But this is all conditional on the spending review in June. I hope the government will treat Reform councils fairly."Inside the council chamber, the block of Reform councillors vastly outnumbered the other parties as they took their seats to go through the official process of appointing the leader and cabinet - which is made up of all Conservatives – who ran the council up until the elections in May – said so far there's little policy detail about Reform's leader Aidy Riggott said: "Businesses will be sat waiting and wondering, especially those in maybe the clean energy sector or the renewable sector, wondering if Lancashire's a place where I can still invest my money."The independent and Green councillors who now make up the official opposition said they wanted to "hold Reform to account".Independent councillor Almas Razakazi added: "My ward is very impoverished. It's full of different nationalities, and lots of people who are immigrants and they put a lot into the economy, so I want to make sure they are properly represented and treated fairly."It is early days for Reform in power, and in Lancashire the party is keen to stress they want to work with officers from the council to take time before making policy challenge is now whether the party can deliver on what they've promised - something many political parties have found is easier said than done.
