'CEO' Tillerson faces internal sceptics, crisis-battling White House

[webfact]

'CEO' Tillerson faces internal sceptics, crisis-battling White House

By Lesley Wroughton and Yeganeh Torbati

REUTERS

 

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson looks over papers before a meeting on Syria at the World Conference Center in Bonn, western Germany, February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of Rex Tillerson's first directives as U.S. secretary of state was an order to senior staff that his briefing materials not exceed two pages.

 

It was a reflection of Tillerson's management style honed at the helm of Exxon Mobil, an oil company known for its relentless focus on efficiency, and one reason his closest aides at the State Department refer to him as "the CEO" rather than "the Secretary."

 

More than a dozen current and former U.S. officials familiar with briefing procedures said Tillerson's predecessors would typically request far more detailed information. His aide R.C. Hammond said the directive reflected Tillerson's focus on key facts rather than lack of interest in finer points of foreign policy.

 

"He is asking people to be efficient with their information," Hammond said, adding that if Tillerson needed more information he would ask for it. "He is a decision-maker and he needs the facts in front of him."

 

As a first-time government official with no prior diplomatic experience, Tillerson faces close scrutiny over how successful he will be in managing both the State Department bureaucracy and its relations with Donald Trump and his administration.

 

Senior State Department officials who have attended meetings with Tillerson say they find him sociable and a man of substance, whose direct manner and probing questions reflect his training as an engineer seeking to solve problems rather than play politics.

 

The veteran oil executive also made a good impression on his first foreign trip to a Group of 20 summit in Bonn, Germany, last week. Four senior diplomats who met him told Reuters they were relieved to find that he was pragmatic and open to dialogue.

 

Yet a key concern for U.S. diplomats is how effective his team can be in shaping foreign policy in the new administration. Just two State Department positions of 116 key posts requiring executive branch nomination have been filled, according to the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service - Tillerson's and that of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

 

For example, Tillerson still has no deputy after Trump rejected his top choice, Elliott Abrams.

 

"People want to back him," one veteran senior official said about the former Exxon Mobil boss. "But people are feeling that this building is being stripped," said the official, referring to a sense that with so many top positions vacant, the State Department is not fully equipped to help make policy in the new administration.

 

There is also unease over possible deep staff cuts and the future of some departments. Two people said employees in the Bureau of Management and Resources were told to apply for other positions within the State Department. Hammond, Tillerson's aide said no decision had been taken to close that division.

 

IN OR OUT OF THE LOOP?

 

On one recent matter of longstanding U.S. foreign policy, Tillerson appeared to be sidelined.

 

On Feb. 14, while Tillerson was at a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a State Department dining room, news headlines emerged suggesting the United States was backing away from supporting a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.

 

The two-state solution is the bedrock of the international community's policy for a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, but Trump suggested last week he was open to abandoning it if both sides agree.

 

"No one had been informed of any changes in policy and the Secretary was about to leave on his first major trip," said one senior State Department official, referring to Tillerson's visit to Bonn.

 

Tillerson's acting deputy Tom Shannon also did not take part in Trump's meeting with Netanyahu at the White House the following day when his boss was on his way to Europe, according to one U.S. official.

 

It was unclear whether Tillerson had been left out of the loop deliberately or by accident, said two officials.

 

A White House official told Reuters he did not know whether Tillerson was briefed in advance. In response to broader concerns about communication between the State Department and the new administration, he said both coordinated "very well."

 

"There are open lines of communications in both directions," the official, who declined to be named, said. "The White House and the State Department coordinate closely across a full range of issues that concern both organizations."To be sure, on another important issue, Tillerson had his say in persuading Trump to back Washington's stance on "One China" policy, which acknowledges Beijing's position that Taiwan is part of it. Trump has in the past appeared to question whether the United States would continue to respect that.

 

Hammond said Tillerson was on the phone with Trump several times a day.

 

"This is the general style of the president to have quick check-ins with people, get people's advice on things," he said. "Information for CEOs flows up, and as a former CEO (Tillerson) understands that."

 

Tillerson has said little publicly since he started and his aides are quick to draw a contrast between him and predecessor John Kerry, a former senator and presidential candidate who revelled in extensive foreign travel and deal making.

 

"Tillerson is not John Kerry, it is unfair to compare the two," said Hammond. "He will quietly go about his job as a counsellor and advisor to the president."

 

For Tillerson's State Department the concern is how to maintain a similar degree of communication with an administration grappling with a succession of crises, nine officials involved in foreign policy and security issues, said.

 

Over the past month the White House has faced legal setbacks over its immigration orders, the resignation of Trump's national security adviser and an investigation into possible links between his campaign and Russian intelligence.

 

Monday's resignation of Michael Flynn, who served as Trump's national security adviser for just 24 days, in particular created a vacuum at the National Security Council, which acts as a key partner for the State Department in formulating Washington's foreign policy.

 

(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Jonathan Landay and Steve Holland in Washington and Andrea Shalal in Bonn. Editing by Warren Strobel and Tomasz Janowski)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-20

[Opl]

Press conference = WH = country

 

A look into the fine -tuned machine's inability to fill several key cabinet positions and other essential roles within the federal governement...

 

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/leaks-grudges-and-tremendous-uncertainty-have-slowed-trump-admins-hiring-to-a-crawl-report/

 

 

[dunroaming]

Running like an oil slick!  Isn't that what Trump said?  It was something like that anyway.

[Emster23]

"... with so many top positions vacant, the State Department is not fully equipped to help make policy in the new administration." 

If he follows Trump's lead, no need to fill positions, Just watch Fox News and wing it. As we are in "post truth" administration, thing like facts, reasoning, analysis, nuance don't carry any weight

 

[elgordo38]

Note to Rex Theresa May is in trouble. Get on the blower right away. Crisis mode. Looks like a runaway petition. 

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/british-parliament-to-debate-withdrawing-donald-trumps-invite-for-state-visit/ar-AAn7jIw?li=AAggv0m

[elgordo38]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

 

Senior State Department officials who have attended meetings with Tillerson say they find him sociable and a man of substance,

Yes I would be a man of substance to if I got a tax free payout from Exxon. Yes he should be sociable with these special terms. 

How Exxon and Trump Helped Rex Tillerson Defer a $71 Million Tax ...

fortune.com/2017/01/06/rex-tillerson-exxon-taxes-trump/

Jan 6, 2017 - Rex Tillerson's nine-figure Exxon exit payout is even sweeter than it sounds. ... Tillerson also detailed how the separation will work in a letter released by the ... A lawyer for Tillerson did not respond to emails seeking comment. ... So the money Tillerson gets is tax-free for now as long as it stays invested.

[Chicog]

Not to mention he just got his boss to get Exxon out of having to report its bribes. Worth his Exxon remuneration right there.

 

 

[Srikcir]

13 hours ago, webfact said:

For Tillerson's State Department the concern is how to maintain a similar degree of communication with an administration grappling with a succession of crises

But Trump said his administration was running like a well-oiled machine.

Maybe the problem is that his machine is a motor bike and a Humvee is needed.

 

[spidermike007]

As Trump stated a finely tuned machine. Yeah, maybe a 1963 Rambler. Nobody knows what the other guy is doing. Trumps lack of political experience may be starting to become a liability. 

[Redline]

18 hours ago, Emster23 said:

"... with so many top positions vacant, the State Department is not fully equipped to help make policy in the new administration." 

If he follows Trump's lead, no need to fill positions, Just watch Fox News and wing it. As we are in "post truth" administration, thing like facts, reasoning, analysis, nuance don't carry any weight

 

Fake president

[Redline]

7 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

As Trump stated a finely tuned machine. Yeah, maybe a 1963 Rambler. Nobody knows what the other guy is doing. Trumps lack of political experience may be starting to become a liability. 

I don't think it is all about political experience.  A big part is ego and game playing, pitting people against each other, as well as lack of communication...

[mrwebb8825]

So, there are 116 positions unfilled from the previous administration's staff - and we all KNOW what a bang-up job they did. Botched, war ending pull-outs, mislaid communications costing lives, ceasefire deals brokered by halfwits, trade agreements brokered by apologists, security teams that didn't know what each other were doing. Quite the efficient machine there.

Somebody finally comes along to fix and smooth rough edges, cut waste, quit kissing world ass and you lot get your panties all in a bunch. More of the same old crap is exactly WHY the DNC lost over 1,000 government seats since 2009 and they STILL haven't figured out that the asshat to blame is looking back at them in the mirror every morning.

[elgordo38]

On 2/20/2017 at 6:40 PM, Chicog said:

Not to mention he just got his boss to get Exxon out of having to report its bribes. Worth his Exxon remuneration right there.

 

 

The rich get richer and the poor get p**d on. 

[Chicog]

Meanwhile the murky case of the Ukrainian who paid Trump's campaign manager has taken another strange turn.

First, his extradition to the US was approved, and then suddenly Spain appeared with an arrest warrant and may well have put the kibosh on it.

 

Quote

 

In addition to his work for Yanukovych, Manafort also worked with Ukrainian oligarchs, including Firtash. In 2008, a group including Manafort and Firtash negotiated an $895m (£718m) deal to buy a New York hotel, which they wanted to redevelop as a mall and spa, according to filings from an unrelated lawsuit. The court filings include memos of meetings Firtash and Manafort attended in Kiev. The deal eventually fell through.

He is Ukraine’s 16th richest man, with an estimated wealth of $251m (£202m) as of 2016, according to Forbes Ukraine.

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/21/austria-grants-us-request-to-extradite-ukrainian-mogul-dmytro-firtash

 

Obviously another Russian wanting to stash ill-gotten gains overseas. I wonder who that could be?

 

This administration is as bent as a 9 baht coin.

[ilostmypassword]

10 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

So, there are 116 positions unfilled from the previous administration's staff - and we all KNOW what a bang-up job they did. Botched, war ending pull-outs, mislaid communications costing lives, ceasefire deals brokered by halfwits, trade agreements brokered by apologists, security teams that didn't know what each other were doing. Quite the efficient machine there.

Somebody finally comes along to fix and smooth rough edges, cut waste, quit kissing world ass and you lot get your panties all in a bunch. More of the same old crap is exactly WHY the DNC lost over 1,000 government seats since 2009 and they STILL haven't figured out that the asshat to blame is looking back at them in the mirror every morning.

They were unfilled because the Republican Senate refused to approve them. Trump can't even come up with people willing to be nominated.  

[Scott]

Inflammatory posts and replies removed.  

[Redline]

23 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

So, there are 116 positions unfilled from the previous administration's staff - and we all KNOW what a bang-up job they did. Botched, war ending pull-outs, mislaid communications costing lives, ceasefire deals brokered by halfwits, trade agreements brokered by apologists, security teams that didn't know what each other were doing. Quite the efficient machine there.

Somebody finally comes along to fix and smooth rough edges, cut waste, quit kissing world ass and you lot get your panties all in a bunch. More of the same old crap is exactly WHY the DNC lost over 1,000 government seats since 2009 and they STILL haven't figured out that the asshat to blame is looking back at them in the mirror every morning.

True about the DNC, but it's just going to get worse with DT.  Talk about amateur  reality TV.  By the way, the USA is too weak to fight the whole world.  I guess they will figure that out while destroying the country, and losing all of our allies.  Your short sighted by ridiculing only the last administration.  Even Russia is dumping the USA now.