Eliminate dozens of special envoy posts

Tillerson looking to eliminate dozens of special envoy posts

By NAHAL TOOSI

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wants to eliminate at least 30 special envoy positions at the State Department, including ones dedicated to the Syrian crisis and closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Tillerson outlined his plans in a letter to Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The letter, which became public Monday, offers one of the clearest illustrations yet of how Tillerson plans to restructure the State Department under President Donald Trump.

In the letter, first reported on by CNN, Tillerson notes that nearly 70 special envoy or similar positions exist at the department and that some have outlived their purpose. In many cases, Tillerson argues that existing State Department bureaus will be able to handle the same duties in a more efficient way.

The positions that Tillerson proposes cutting include ones that deal with: climate change; international labor affairs; cyber issues; rights for the disabled; implementation of the Iran nuclear deal; global youth issues; and the Northern Ireland conflict.

In several cases, such as that of the U.S. special envoy for Syria, the title will be removed, but another official will keep performing same or similar functions. In other cases, such as closing the Guantanamo Bay prison, the issue is a not a priority for the Trump administration, and it's unlikely the same functions will be pursued.

Some positions would continue to exist in name, but the title will be held by someone who already holds another position — a "dual-hatting." And there are some envoy positions that Tillerson wants to keep, including ones dedicated to promoting the human rights of the LGBT community abroad, fighting anti-Semitism, and global women's issues.

Tillerson's attempts to reduce the number of special envoys has broad support within the State Department, where many diplomats nonetheless cringe at Trump's proposal to cut their budget by 30 percent. The general feeling is that the envoy positions have proliferated to the point where they are undermining existing State Department regional bureaus and other divisions that do similar work.

Some of the special envoy positions are mandated by law, making Tillerson's reorganization process tricky. At the same time, many of the positions are supported by outside advocacy groups who fear that their elimination will undermine efforts to highlight those particular issues.

In a statement, Corker said he looked forward to going through Tillerson's proposals in detail.

Corker's committee in July passed bipartisan legislation that requires the State Department to tell Congress which special envoys it wants to keep. The legislation also requires that all special envoy nominees going forward obtain Senate confirmation.