Politics

Trump Cleans House At Highest Level Of State Department

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Saagar Enjeti White House Correspondent
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The Trump administration accepted a large swath of senior Department of State officials’ resignations Wednesday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Thursday.

Toner’s statement came in response to a Washington Post story, which assumed that senior State Department officials resigned en-masse. The story was followed hours later by a CNN report that the administration had fired four senior managers.

Toner’s statement instead clarifies that political appointee’s within the Department of State always submit their resignations as a matter of protocol. These resignations can then either be accepted or denied by the incoming administration. Moreover some of the officers whose resignations were accepted will not retire from the State Department but will instead move into other roles within the career foreign service.

Matt Lee, the Associated Press’s State Department correspondent noted for context that only one undersecretary of state stayed in the transition from the Clinton to Bush administration.

Refilling the positions will likely be one of the first duties of Secretary of State designate Rex Tillerson when he is confirmed by the full senate. Tillerson’s confirmation is expected next week, after he was favorably recommended by the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

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