(Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi)
As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson undergoes an internal review of a US State Department that could face a 30% budget cut and eliminate 2,300 jobs, questions have risen about whether the department can effectively lead the country in foreign-policy issues.
Despite having no government experience, Tillerson was lauded by President Donald Trump as the right candidate for secretary of state because of his business acumen during his tenure as CEO of Exxon Mobil.
"The Fiscal Year 2018 budget request seeks to align the core missions of the State Department with historic funding levels," Tillerson said during his opening remarks before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in June. "We believe this budget also represents the interests of the American people, including responsible stewardship of the public's money."
Tillerson's remarks appear to be in conflict with previous statements from other key US officials, including Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who at a National Security Advisory Council meeting in 2013 said, "If you don't fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately."
"So I think it's a cost-benefit ratio," Mattis said. "The more that we put into the State Department's diplomacy, hopefully the less we have to put into a military budget."
Another point of concern is the vacancy of several crucial spots in the State Department. Ilan Goldenberg, a senior fellow and director at the Center for a New American Security, notes that most of the assistant secretary slots — a "key cog at the heart of the State Department's machinery" — have remained vacant.
The assistant secretary, who is "responsible for leading a regional or functional bureau," influences hundreds of desk officers and ostensibly acts as the principal informational liaison to the secretary of state, Goldenberg wrote in the Raddington Report.
(A look at several senior official vacancies in the US State Department.US Dept. of State)
Acting assistant secretaries have taken up the responsibility; however, as Goldenberg wrote: "They have little access to Tillerson and when they interact with their foreign counterparts it is clear they have no mandate or influence on U.S. policy."
Instead of customarily relying on assistant secretaries, Tillerson has been dependent on his two aides: his chief of staff, Margaret Peterlin, who was previously the deputy director of the US Patent and Trademark Office, and his head of policy planning, Brian Hook, a former assistant secretary of state.