President-elect Donald Trump’s Transition Team is planning to shake up the State Department by moving new officials into key roles. According to a source familiar with the situation, the transition will bring in dozens of “senior bureau officials” to oversee career State Department employees and ensure that the department carries out the Trump foreign policy agenda from day one.
Normally, career State Department officials would oversee these key positions while political appointees await Senate confirmation. However, this move may be seen as a step to fundamentally change the government on a bureaucratic level. Trump has previously criticized the State Department, dubbing it the “Deep State Department” due to his belief that career diplomats were working to subvert his agenda.
The Trump team has already asked three senior career diplomats to step down from their roles, and reportedly has plans to move in dozens of new officials to key operational roles. This move affects more than 20 additional key roles at the State Department.
The source also stated that the transition has already identified the senior bureau officials who will be taking over these positions. This move is seen as part of Trump’s efforts to put his vision for “America First” into action and root out what he sees as a “deep state” bureaucracy.
The Trump transition team has also expressed support for State Department nominee Marco Rubio’s plan to make the agency “relevant again.” During his confirmation hearing, Rubio stated that the State Department’s “core mission has not been well-defined” and that it is “our obligation to define it.” He also emphasized the importance of the State Department being “at the table when decisions are being made” and having a role in creative ideas and effective implementation.