Mass management resignation at State – no confidence in Trump, Tillerson

Posted by | January 26, 2017 16:43 | Filed under: News Behaving Badly Politics

Republish
Reprint

It happened yesterday, but the news is just beginning to cross the wire.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s job running the State Department just got considerably more difficult. The entire senior level of management officials resigned Wednesday, part of an ongoing mass exodus of senior foreign service officers who don’t want to stick around for the Trump era.

Tillerson was actually inside the State Department’s headquarters in Foggy Bottom on Wednesday, taking meetings and getting the lay of the land. I reported Wednesday morning that the Trump team was narrowing its search for his No. 2, and that it was looking to replace the State Department’s long-serving undersecretary for management, Patrick Kennedy. Kennedy, who has been in that job for nine years, was actively involved in the transition and was angling to keep that job under Tillerson, three State Department officials told me.

Then suddenly on Wednesday afternoon, Kennedy and three of his top officials resigned unexpectedly, four State Department officials confirmed. Assistant Secretary of State for Administration Joyce Anne Barr, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Michele Bond and Ambassador Gentry O. Smith, director of the Office of Foreign Missions, followed him out the door. All are career foreign service officers who have served under both Republican and Democratic administrations.


Click here for reuse options!
Copyright 2017 Liberaland
By: dave-dr-gonzo

David Hirsch, a.k.a. Dave "Doctor" Gonzo*, is a renegade record producer, video producer, writer, reformed corporate shill, and still-registered lobbyist for non-one-percenter performing artists and musicians. He lives in a heavily fortified compound in one of Manhattan's less trendy neighborhoods.

* Hirsch is the third person to use the pseudonym, a not-so-veiled tribute to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, with the permission of his predecessors Gene Gaudette of American Politics Journal (currently webmaster and chief bottlewasher at Liberaland) and Stephen Meese at Smashmouth Politics.

59 responses to Mass management resignation at State – no confidence in Trump, Tillerson

  1. Willys41 January 26th, 2017 at 17:23

    Really no need for a state department. Trump won’t listen to anything they say and they’ll end up just sitting around waiting for the next edict telling them what to do.

    • Mike January 26th, 2017 at 17:54

      He’s got twitter for touchy negotiations.. it worked great today with Mexico.

      • dogsRgoodpeople January 26th, 2017 at 17:59

        lmao!

      • wpadon January 26th, 2017 at 19:18

        They should rename the service from twitter to twitchy for the pussy grabber.

  2. burqa January 26th, 2017 at 18:16

    This is Plan B.

    Plan A was a book drop……………….

  3. labman57 January 26th, 2017 at 18:29

    The stench emanating from the Trump Administration is becoming unbearable.

  4. StoneyCurtisll January 26th, 2017 at 18:37

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1AvNnJRMts

  5. amersham1046 January 26th, 2017 at 18:57

    Not the type he can afford to lose,and there will be a lot more from other departments, Congress may be full of hustle and bustle but the real work of the government could slowly grind to a snails pace

  6. Chris Joseph January 26th, 2017 at 19:25

    Nice try.. http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/26/politics/top-state-department-officials-asked-to-leave-by-trump-administration/index.html

    • Obewon January 26th, 2017 at 19:52

      Reading the link debunks you e.g. Resignations en masse “Wednesday afternoon” 1/25/17, DT’s faux response 1/26/17. LMAO! Any DT utterance earns Pulitzer Prize winning 4% truth rating. Neoclown exhibit A: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jan/21/sean-spicer/trump-had-biggest-inaugural-crowd-ever-metrics-don/
      Are Putin’s KGB golden showers why you support buffoon Donnie?https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f7af97985e31c4c6ced925489b5c14d63726f7f4ee50e4c27fab4e7461d57cb0.jpg

    • dave-dr-gonzo January 26th, 2017 at 21:39

      Nice try, Chris; the “firings” followed the mass resignations – and the walkout is a very public embarrassment for Tillerson and Trump.

      Plus, I have family that works near the top of State – even the conservative leaners are appalled at the way Mogul von Clownstick quite publicly demanded the resignation of all ambassadors, and deserved this quite public humiliation.

      • mea_mark January 26th, 2017 at 22:10

        O/T did you see Maddow tonight? If not, it is worth checking out. She dropped a bomb on tRump.

    • granpa.usthai January 26th, 2017 at 21:56

      BS.

      your COWARD COMMANDER PONME just f’d his chances of vuling ze vorlt.

      plus, the isolation to come will destroy internal economics.

    • robert January 27th, 2017 at 04:16

      Still waiting for Trump’s press secretary to make a statement confirming your link

    • Budda January 27th, 2017 at 06:07

      Whether ‘fired’ or resigned makes no difference in that we now have a State Department with no leadership.

    • Gina Bousquet January 27th, 2017 at 09:56

      Hahaha, CNN is the new Breitbart. They resigned the day before.

  7. The Original Just Me January 26th, 2017 at 20:46

    Backbone. it is GOOD to see there is some of it left in the U.S.

  8. granpa.usthai January 26th, 2017 at 21:52

    SMART AMERICANS!

    THE RESURRECTION OF THE REPUBLIC HAS BEGUN!

    and ALL Americans KNOW WITHOUT DOUBT who the REAL ENEMIES are!

  9. Mensa Member January 26th, 2017 at 22:32

    Big Rat Tillerson enters the swamp and all kinds of things flee.

  10. trees January 27th, 2017 at 07:49

    After 8 years of Obama a good housecleaning is in order. Department of Justice will also get a thorough cleaning.

    • Carla Akins January 27th, 2017 at 08:39

      You do understand that you can’t just pluck someone off the street to manage foreign diplomacy, right? How are you going to feel when all Americans oversees, whether they are service members, college students, scientists, are no longer safe anywhere else in the world because some angry bigot has destroyed a few hundred years of diplomacy? This view of isolationism is going to destroy us.

      • trees January 27th, 2017 at 10:57

        What, the only qualified people in the entire State Dept just quit? ( I think there are plenty of qualified replacements working there already. It’s kind of like our government, after an election. All of the senior administration officials have to find new jobs, cause their boss, and his party, were voted out…)

        • granpa.usthai January 28th, 2017 at 00:32

          well now, just who is going to trust a COWARD COMMANDER PONME that’s NEVER been elected to anything – including the leader of trumpland.

      • Robert M. Snyder January 28th, 2017 at 11:20

        “How are you going to feel when all Americans oversees, whether they are service members, college students, scientists, are no longer safe anywhere else in the world”

        Were they any safer 18 months ago, before Trump announced his candidacy? The State Dept. issued numerous warnings to Americans living and traveling abroad during the Obama years. Do you know anyone who is planning to visit the pyramids? I’ve heard that many hotels on Turkey’s coast are going out of business because of a steep reduction in tourism. It’s not just Americans who are at risk when traveling abroad. The French aren’t even safe in Paris anymore.

        • Carla Akins January 28th, 2017 at 12:40

          Yes, yes they were. There were avenues of diplomacy that could be worked. Yesterday, Nikki Haley decided to start her new job with threatening our Allies.

          Don’t get me wrong, there are times for taking a hard line but….seriously?

          Trump seems to think we can be an island unto ourselves. Who on earth would be our ally if given a choice, never knowing when Trump would decide to “negotiate” a treaty at will because someone hurt his feelings. If he chooses to run his businesses in such a manner, that is his business but it is no way to responsibly lead a country.

          Yes, I have traveled extensively and as frequently as a few months ago. I certainly understand why Americans are disliked in may places but I have never felt I was in danger for simply being American. You can wring your hands about how we’re hated now (for good reason) but you’ve seen nothing until the fallout created by a bully armed with a twitter account and more delusions than fish in the sea.

          • Robert M. Snyder January 28th, 2017 at 13:58

            “You can wring your hands about how we’re hated now (for good reason)”

            I think there are many reasons, and some of them have to do with culture. There are conservatives in every culture who worry about whether the younger generation is learning the proper set of values. Until recently, countries like Saudi Arabia had a great deal of control over what kinds of media its citizens were exposed to. But they have much less control today because of the internet and social media. So I think that one of the reasons why some people dislike the US and other Western societies is because they don’t like the influence our culture is having on their young people.

            We are so accustomed to our own culture that we have trouble seeing it through the eyes of outsiders. If people from 1917 could time travel to 2017 and watch Fox News, many of them would describe some of the female hosts as being partially nude.

            I was born in 1960 and the only nudity I saw as a child were artistic nudes in my father’s Popular Photography magazines and native peoples in National Geographic. Somewhere around the age of 12 or 13, when our family visited a public beach, it had the same effect on me as watching porn did in later years.

            Anyone who grows up in a country like Saudi Arabia is going to be powerfully affected by Western culture. I suspect that for many young men, Western styles of dress and Western media are a powerful stimulant, at least for a while. And I suspect that this is very troubling to a lot of the elders who believe in minimizing the temptations of the flesh. I think that some people hate Westerners and Western culture because they think that we are leading their young people astray.

            There are probably hundreds of reasons why people dislike the US and other Western nations. What motivates people to set off explosives in Paris? Are they angry about French foreign policy? Are they angry with French culture? I doubt if there is a single answer, but I think that culture plays a significant role.

            Should Fox News hosts dress more conservatively out of respect for the Muslims, Mormons, Mennonites, Amish, and other conservative members of their audience? Should Madonna and Lady Gaga dress and behave less provocatively as well?

            One thing is certain: They would be required to dress and behave very differently in Saudi Arabia. So I think it is obvious that many of the people living in Saudi Arabia are not comfortable with some aspects of Western culture that they (and their children) see depicted in Western media.

            I am not trying to defend Trump. My point is that even if Trump were a perfect gentleman and the State Department were staffed by perfect diplomats, many people would find other reasons to hate Western countries, including the US. Foreign policy may be a big factor, but it is not the only factor.

            I stopped attending church around age 19. But to this day, I avoid mowing the lawn on Sunday mornings out of respect for my Christian neighbors. I willingly relinquish a small portion of my own freedom in order to avoid irritating my neighbors. If I were the president of Fox News, I would seriously consider asking my news hosts to dress more conservatively, the way they do over at MSNBC. Everyone seems to agree that people should think twice before using words and phrases that might inflame passions. And most people would agree that it would be rude to wear shorts and flip-flops to a formal affair. Madonna and Lady Gaga have made careers based upon shock value. But it’s not just Westerners who they are shocking.

            Why do they hate us? Let me count the ways…

            • Carla Akins January 29th, 2017 at 04:48

              Cultural differences and being offended is normal and typically sorted through personal interaction. Let’s be real, they hate us because we do awful stuff. And we do with a high-handed arrogance and sense of absolute entitlement that it’s certain to be intentional.

              • Robert M. Snyder January 29th, 2017 at 13:15

                “they hate us because we do awful stuff”

                How do you explain Charlie Hebdo or the truck attack in Nice, France? How do you explain 300,000 Syrians killed by fellow Syrians? What did those victims do to deserve their fate? Did they also do awful stuff? Do KKK members hate blacks because blacks do awful stuff?

                Face it: Sometimes people just hate you because of who you are. It could be racial or cultural. But it’s not because you did something to deserve it.

                In Bosnia, the US protected Muslim Albanians against aggression by Christian Serbs. In Iraq, the US protected Muslim Kurds against the mostly-secular Iraqi regime. In 2004, after the tsunami hit Banda Aceh, the US military rapidly provided assistance to the nation of Aceh, which is 98% Muslim.

                A lot of Muslims like the US, and a lot probably dislike the US. Many French Muslims dislike France, and many Indonesian Muslims dislike Australia. But only a tiny minority harbor the kind of hatred that leads them to commit terrorist acts.

                Why do some Muslims hate us? Well, why do some Muslims hate the French and the Australians? Why do some Sunnis hate Shi’ites? Why do some Syrians hate the Assad government? Why do KKK members hate blacks?

                You need to stop blaming the victims.

                • Carla Akins January 29th, 2017 at 19:19

                  Attacks like you mention are committed by terrorists, who happen to use the Muslim religion as an excuse for their actions. And we are disliked because our government like to invade sovereign countries, depose leaders and we suck at keeping our word/tretys.

                  Americans visit other countries and expect others to know English, accept our customs and eccentricities and essentially bend to our will. We are loud, rude, and demanding.

                  • Robert M. Snyder January 29th, 2017 at 20:19

                    “Americans visit other countries and expect others to know English, accept our customs and eccentricities and essentially bend to our will. We are loud, rude, and demanding.”

                    It’s not like you to make such a broad generalization. Of course some American travelers are rude. But Americans don’t have a patent on rudeness.

                    Many years ago, my wife and I spent a weekend with my German software distributor and his girlfriend when they were visiting NYC. While having lunch in a small restaurant, my friend ordered a strudel. When it was delivered to the table, he complained that it was not a real strudel. What followed was several minutes of heated arguing between a hard-headed German and a hard-headed American. If memory serves, my German friend eventually got a refund. Was he “loud, rude, and demanding”? Did he expect others to “accept his customs and eccentricities and bend to his will”? You be the judge.

                    Look, if it is wrong for people to generalize about Muslims or blacks or women, then it is wrong for you to generalize about Americans. I do a lot of the shopping for our household. When I am navigating the aisles and the checkout at the grocery store in my small community, people are kind, patient, and friendly… almost without exception. If I wanted to find Americans who are loud, rude, and demanding, I would visit Philly or NYC. In my experience, it is the city folks who are lacking in the social graces.

                    • burqa January 30th, 2017 at 19:17

                      At some point our actions have consequences.
                      We could not expect no consequences from there being a perception in the Middle East that we were trying to either steal their oil or cheat them of their oil profits.
                      The same with having military bases on their holy lands from which we bombed their brethren.
                      The same with our support for oppressive regimes that refused to allow the people the rights enjoyed by Americans.
                      These were 3 reasons bin Laden gave for 9/11. I have not just read, but studied his public statements and his objections to us were overwhelmingly actions we took. Hr summed it up once by saying, “Why do we attack you? Because you attacked us.”

                      Abu Ghraib was a huge recruiting tool for terrorists and insurgents.

                      As for tourists, in my experience a large percentage of Americans are poorly behaved. Of course you are correct to object to a stereotype, but “The ugly American” has a foundation in experience. Obviously we have no monopoly on bad behavior.

                    • Robert M. Snyder January 30th, 2017 at 19:44

                      “He summed it up once by saying, “Why do we attack you? Because you attacked us.””

                      Husband to wife: “Why did I just break your jaw? Because you hurt me when you did X, Y, and Z.”

                      Wife to husband: “Yes, I know I have hurt you at times. I am very sorry. I will try to be a better person. I understand why you hit me. It was my fault. I deserved it.”

                  • burqa January 30th, 2017 at 19:06

                    Yeah, I generally avoid them abroad, unless they’re standing on a street corner, holding a map upside down, trying to figure out where the hell they are.
                    There are, of course, exceptions. I am proud to be one.
                    My manners are excellent, and because of them I ended up traveling in some pretty exclusive circles in France for many years.

                    Those who attack us do for many reasons. Some of it is false propaganda they have been given, some of it is actions we have taken, some of it is because the attackers are just bloodthirsty psycho-killers…

        • Obewon January 28th, 2017 at 12:45

          You mentioned, that you know ‘Muslim business owner immigrants, returning to their country each year.’ Not anymore! Their families are now banned by Trump from USA entry. And you love Donnie dufus.

          • Robert M. Snyder January 28th, 2017 at 14:10

            Actually, they are Guatemalan immigrants who came legally and obtained citizenship. They operate a couple of pizza shops and they return to Guatemala most years for a couple of weeks during the winter. At least two of them regularly attend a local Catholic church.

            Last year, Nobel laureate Mikhail Gorbachev said in a speech that under similar circumstances, he would have done the same thing as Putin (i.e. annex Crimea). In response to this, the current government of Ukraine banned him from visiting their country. Putin claims that public opinion polls in Crimea show strong support for the annexation. I don’t know whether to believe those polls, but there’s no disputing what Gorby said.

            http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/27/europe/gorbachev-ukraine-russia-ban/

    • William January 27th, 2017 at 10:20

      I know sheesh! Just because the Secretary of State is an oil company CEO who is close buddies with a former KGB agent who hacked our election. huh? Remember when you idiots were all aghast because Russia MIGHT have hacked Hillary’s e-mails? LOL. One week into Cheeto-Hitlers reign of idiocy and we find he is impeachable using unsecured cell phone, twitter,…oh and his “alternative facts” monkey is using the same RNC server President Cheney and his pet squirrel used to dump 22 million e-mails. My guess is the department of Justice is going to be REAL busy. Hey but at least Trumps secretary of state isn’t a woman huh? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d317fab03cc98ac03047099be891b123045fc5018d0758de1e9aafb7a2ffc405.png

      • trees January 27th, 2017 at 13:09

        One week into Cheeto-Hitlers reign of idiocy and we find he is impeachable using unsecured cell phone

        That’s funny, cause when Hillary had her own unsecured private server that she sent and received classified info on…..

        You said…

        Nothing to see here.

        Hillary used unsecured non government issued BlackBerry phones, plural, and you said…..

        ????

        • Bunya January 27th, 2017 at 14:16

          You’re right, however this isn’t the first time we said “nothing to see here”. We also said that,
          .
          1) when Dubya allowed the WTC to be attacked
          “nothing to see here”,
          .
          2) when Bush/Cheney lied us into an unnecessary war for profit
          “nothing to see here”
          .
          3) when they tortured detainees
          “nothing to see here”
          .
          4) when Dubya allowed 13 attacks on US embassies, killing 60
          “nothing to see here”
          .
          Bill Clinton getting blown in the White House? Sound the alarms!!! Quick! Get Newt “family values guy” Gingrich to lead the charge!!!

          • granpa.usthai January 28th, 2017 at 00:30

            they did a first rate job of covering up abu ghraib too!

            nothing to see there except torture and beating to death of school teachers, cab drivers and Iraqis that weren’t too damn thrilled about the US setting up a DICTATOR in Iraq.

            maybe this time it’ll be the Chinese in trumpland?

            • Bunya January 30th, 2017 at 10:18

              Honey, I’m beginning to believe that we’d be better off living in China right about now.

        • William January 27th, 2017 at 14:50

          There was nothing to see. Weren’t you paying attention when Comey came out TWICE and stated there was no crime committed?

          • granpa.usthai January 28th, 2017 at 00:26

            well, there wasn’t any crime committed until the NYC FBI office FABRICATED FALSE EVIDENCE based on a Breitbart news made up story then comey and ryan had a good laugh using their good republican campaign device to DECEIVE the public up until the day before the election. Hillary Clinton still won the POPULAR VOTE (that’s individual American Voters) by 3.5+or – MILLION VOTES!

            so the FBI is now nothing but a big pile of bureaucratic SH*T!
            a very expensive good republican device that the American people should demand be dissolved and scattered to the 6 winds.
            they are one ‘intelligence’ organization that is a multi billion yearly worthless pack of LYING traitors to the BETRAYED Republic.

            F -em’.

        • William January 27th, 2017 at 14:58

          17 U.S intelligence agencies are convinced that Mandarin Molesters buddy Putin has hacked into out election, but you clowns are completely unconcerned. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7f9bc7bf87045ae4d38aa20c014033077b6f3b09702095d810f4c88555c8f152.jpg

        • William January 27th, 2017 at 15:19

          https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/trump-staffers-using-private-rnc-174905121.html

        • Comicus January 27th, 2017 at 23:03

          Unsecured? How many of her emails from that server are on Wikileaks? 0. You clowns whined and cried that no one knew what was really on her server but her. That is the goddamn definition of secure. Also, you are blind to your own hypocrisy.

          • Hirightnow January 27th, 2017 at 23:10

            Forgive our token “trees”…he’s kept around as an example of one of the last RWers that try to use actual,provable facts to further their view.(“Facts” being the operative term”)
            It’s an experiment, and as you can see, it’s not quite working.
            We all hold high hopes for him, though…

            • granpa.usthai January 28th, 2017 at 00:17

              oh most ‘alternatively’.

      • granpa.usthai January 28th, 2017 at 00:15

        secretary of state isn’t a C*NT I believe is the new conservative christian republicans acceptable terminology.

    • causeican January 27th, 2017 at 14:27

      You’re still butt hurt from Obama!

      • whatthe46 January 27th, 2017 at 20:48

        a black man with Obama’s intellect who became one of America’s most successful president’s even with all the blocking and efforts by a bunch of racist asshats to see him fail, will eat at them for the rest of their lives. they are miserable and will never be anything other than miserable.

  11. trees January 27th, 2017 at 11:06

    Elections have consequences. That’s what’s great about our government. Every 4 years we can change, or keep, the people in the government. Jen Psaki and Marie Harf were an embarrassment. John Kerry? Incompetent and embarrassing….

    Oh nooooooooo……. The State Dept is changing..

    A lot of people think it’s long overdue.

    • Bunya January 27th, 2017 at 14:08

      You obviously don’t know much about American history. The incompetent and embarrassing presidents ever are Ronald “Bonzo Goes to College” Reagan, Dubya “mission, accomplished” Bush and Donald “pussy grabber” Trump. John Kerry is an intelligent war hero. I guess that’s more than what can be said about you.

  12. Jimmy Fleck January 27th, 2017 at 13:32

    https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/10/fact-sheet-facilitating-smooth-transition-next-administration

    From Obama’s whitehouse web page – ” In support of the well-respected principle that the incoming President selects her or his own team, the President has asked appointees to submit resignation letters effective no later than the inauguration of the new President.”

    This is a standard procedure for all political appointed positions. Trump just accepted their resignations so that he can select the people he wants. There is nothing unusual about this whenever a new president takes office.

    • William January 27th, 2017 at 15:09

      In support of the well-respected principle that the incoming President selects her or his own team”

      Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha. Now what was that term the right likes to use so much? Oh yeah “Corporate cronyism”

      https://www.facebook.com/OccupyDemocrats/videos/1384672971625753/

    • Obewon January 27th, 2017 at 20:38

      DT45’s feigned ‘4,000’ appointments… 690 are required…Only 28 nominees. 4%! Sucker!

    • granpa.usthai January 28th, 2017 at 00:12

      uh yea, OK, sure -(eyes rolling)

      is there any F’ing body that supports trump that’s in any way connected with the remote possibility of knowing what truth means?

  13. Benjaman Johnson January 29th, 2017 at 00:55

    China Deploys Nukes to Russian Coast in response to “Trumps Aggression”

    NOT a peep on FOX, Alan, can you put a birdie in their ear please? Here we go!

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/china-deploys-long-range-nuclear-cpable-missiles-russian-coast-us-president-donald-trump-a7548296.html

Leave a Reply