Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement:
“I have serious concerns with how Rex Tillerson has performed at the State Department, but regardless of who is Secretary of State, it’s clear that Donald Trump has been trying to undermine the Department and hollow out our diplomatic corps. With his 31% budget cuts and the exodus of so many of our most senior foreign service officers, morale at the Department is hitting rock bottom. And without skilled diplomats working on national security issues like North Korea, every American is less safe.
“Here's what America needs going forward: A Secretary of State who strongly supports the diplomatic corps, fully funding the State Department, USAID, and our other foreign affairs agencies, and showing the world that we want to extend a hand of friendship, rather than building walls of division.”
