Agency bows out of Tillerson overhaul

The U.S. Agency for International Development has suspended cooperation with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s bid to overhaul the State Department, a move that highlights rising discord and impatience with the top diplomat’s signature initiative.

“Per direction from the Front Office, we are suspending all USAID involvement in the Joint Redesign as of Monday, January 22nd,” Jim Richardson, the agency’s redesign chief, said in a Jan. 19 email to staff members that obtained by Bloomberg News. “You should not work on any Joint Redesign activities.”

Pressed to explain the email, USAID spokesman Clayton McCleskey said the agency is “currently clarifying the roles and responsibilities” of staff members working on the redesign.

“USAID looks forward to continuing to contribute to the Redesign process, through which we will strengthen both State and USAID,” McCleskey added.

The contradictory signals reflect increasing discord over Tillerson’s redesign, which has been the signature initiative of the secretary of state’s term so far but has been clouded by a wave of departures and a lack of clarity over its goals.

The restructuring is intended to modernize the department and eliminate overlap, but it faces resistance within the department and in Congress, where critics say it has contributed to key positions going unfilled and plummeting morale.