State Department staff shakeup accelerated ahead of Trump’s inauguration, 2 sources say

A significant number of diplomats in leadership roles at the State Department were told to step aside just before President Trump took office, two sources tell CBS News.

The shakeup has affected at least 20 State Department officials, including career diplomats and political appointees serving in leadership roles, who received notification as early as Friday, sources familiar with the personnel changes told CBS News. All of the department’s under secretaries and assistant secretaries — including those leading regional bureaus that coordinate how U.S. foreign relations is conducted in six world regions — have been instructed to step aside, the sources confirmed.

The State Department has not commented.

While it is normal for a new administration to choose its own political appointees for various senior roles within the State Department, the extent and speed at which the current leadership has been terminated — including career officials — is shocking, the source said.

Experienced career diplomats have typically remained in senior roles while the new administration’s picks for political appointees await Senate confirmation. A whole swath of leadership must now be replaced by foreign and civil service diplomats who don’t necessarily have as much senior management experience, the source added.

Among those who were told to step down in advance of Mr. Trump’s inauguration include career diplomat John Bass, who has served as the No. 3 official under Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the roles of acting under secretary for political affairs and under secretary for management, and assistant secretary for energy resources Geoff Pyatt, CBS has learned.

In his farewell remarks to the staff crowded in the mezzanine of the State Department on Friday, Blinken said there is “No finer foreign service officer in this generation than John Bass.”

The Foreign Service Institute, which oversees the development of foreign service careers, fielded a large volume of calls Friday as it tried to figure out where to reassign individuals affected by the orders, the source said. There is usually a period of a few months during which they may be reassigned to new roles.

There is a feeling of overall confidence among the rank and file about Sen. Marco Rubio, who is expected to be confirmed as secretary of state, sources told CBS News. He has long served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has substantial familiarity with foreign policy and national security. But the speed and large scale of the leadership shakeup, along with Mr. Trump’s consistent criticism of the so-called “deep state,” have left some staff in the department concerned about who is being brought in to oversee the State Department, and how long Rubio himself may be able to stay in the top job, said one source familiar with the reaction inside the department.

Mr. Trump and Rubio are aligned on many foreign policy areas, including a need to be far tougher on China and Iran, on upholding the recent ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and the need for a political settlement between Russia and Ukraine to end the war.

The Trump White House announced Monday that career ambassador Lisa Kenna will temporarily serve as acting secretary of state until Rubio is confirmed.

Reuters first reported the beginning of the shakeup last week, when three senior career diplomats overseeing the department’s workforce and internal coordination were told to step aside

CBS NEWS