In an effort to support President Trump’s plans to cut the State Department budget by about one-third in fiscal year 2018, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has imposed a new freeze on hiring.
As a reminder, President Trump instigated an across-the-board hiring freeze in his first days as President, then lifted it in April in favor a more "surgical freeze."
Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, described the new stay on hiring as a more "surgical" freeze than the first.
"This is a big part of draining the swamp," he said. "Really what you"re talking about doing is restructuring Washington, D.C., and that is how you drain the swamp, so this is a centerpiece of his campaign and a centerpiece of his administration."
But now, as Bloomberg reports, it appears the planned budget cuts are being prepared for as an emailed memo sent to State Department staff calls for immediate freeze to “all position upgrades, reorganizations, and lateral reassignments,” according to a copy of the document seen by Bloomberg.
Memo sent June 27 bars creation of any new positions including "senior advisors, envoys, chiefs of staff"
“These restrictions are necessary and prudent to insure we do not permit additional position and grade level growth at a time when the Department is undergoing reform and restructuring."
Notably, the memo added that exceptions may be considered for a “national security, life safety” or “public health situation."
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