WASHINGTON –– U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Monday proposed to eliminate several special envoys, including those for climate change and the Iran nuclear deal.
In a letter to Republican Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tillerson detailed how the jobs of many envoys would be moved to other agencies, such as the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Each elimination is accompanied by the amount of money the change would save.
Some jobs have “accomplished or outlived their original purpose” while others will continue but in a different structure, he said.
Tillerson’s plan, parts of which would need congressional approval, reflects his belief that there were too many special envoy jobs –– there are about 70 –– and their work often duplicated work done elsewhere in the State Department. He’s also seeking to fulfill demands that he cut the department’ budget by about a third.
Some of the reductions have widespread support. Among them is the representative for Northern Ireland issues, a position seen as increasingly unnecessary since the Good Friday agreement was implemented in 1998.
Others are likely to provoke criticism in the department and the broader foreign-policy community, including the special envoy for the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. That reflects President Donald Trump’s rejection of the previous administration’s unsuccessful bid to close the prison, where the U.S. houses dozens of alleged terrorists, including the masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Also among the jobs proposed to end is the special envoy for climate issues, after Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. Its tasks would be folded into the Bureau of Oceans and International and Scientific Affairs. Another position proposed for elimination is the job of lead coordinator for implementing the Iran nuclear agreement, which Trump has called the “worst deal ever.” Other envoys would remain but wouldn’t report directly to the secretary of state, such as the ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues.