According to two separate sources familiar with Trump’s plans for the State Department, the administration plans to appoint more political appointees to positions such as assistant secretary, which are typically filled by a mix of career and political bureaucrats.
These sources said Trump’s team wanted to bring more politically appointed officials to the State Department because there was a widespread feeling among his aides that his agenda was being “derailed” by career diplomats during his final term from 2017 to 2021. ” Was given.
Agency review teams are already interviewing candidates for such positions, two sources said.
According to the State Department website, Hogan is the acting secretary of the State Department, the official who manages the flow of information between the department’s bureaus and the White House.
Bernicat is the Director General of the U.S. Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent who leads the recruitment, assignment, and career development of the Department’s workforce.
Assistant Secretary Teplitz has been with the Department for more than three decades, serving overseas as well as in Washington. Most recently, she has been performing the duties of Under Secretary for Management, overseeing more than a dozen bureaus responsible for issues ranging from budget to recruiting, procurement, and human resources in the workforce.
“These are not policy positions. These are all bureaucratic practices,” said Dennis Jett, a professor at Penn State’s School of International Affairs who spent 28 years in the Foreign Service. “But if you want to control the bureaucracy, this is how you do it.”
He said choosing who would fill the three roles would allow Trump’s team to shift resources away from parts of the State Department, control information collected by multiple bureaus and embassies, and manage personnel decisions.
Breaking the ‘deep state’