Amid the Florida Republican’s other troubles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved forward this week with a plan to reshape the department he leads, and as The New York Times reported, he’s making the kind of changes that the White House will like.
[Rubio’s plan] focused on changes to operations in Washington, but the cuts will affect the work of embassies and consulates overseas. … The most dramatic change is the elimination of the office of the under secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights, which is charged with advancing American values around the world.
It’s worth emphasizing that this announcement was the first step, not the last, as part of a larger State Department restructuring — and as the Times’ report added, “closures of diplomatic missions and layoffs abroad are expected later, according to U.S. officials and earlier leaked memos.”
A companion analysis piece in the Times highlighted the consequences of Rubio’s approach: “Human rights, democracy, refugees, war crimes. Those are some of the key responsibilities of a State Department office that Secretary of State Marco Rubio intends to shutter as part of a larger reorganization plan for his agency that he unveiled on Tuesday.”
Indeed, the stated goal of the under secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights is to help countries “build more democratic, secure, stable, and just societies.”
Evidently, that’s no longer a leading priority for the current administration, or the former senator who used to champion these goals.
The analysis added that while some of the affected bureaus will be merged with other State Department offices, “bureaus slated for elimination include those focused on conflict, global criminal justice and combating antisemitism.”








