Bloomberg: Tillerson’s State Overhaul Faces Mutiny as USAID Weighs Role
“The agency in charge of U.S. foreign aid has put Rex Tillerson on notice about rising frustration over his State Department redesign, the most visible sign yet of the confusion surrounding his bid to reshape American diplomacy. ‘Per direction from the Front Office, we are suspending all USAID involvement in the Joint Redesign as of Monday, January 22nd,’ Jim Richardson, the redesign chief at the U.S. Agency for International Development, said in a Jan. 19 email to senior staff obtained by Bloomberg News. … People familiar with USAID Administrator Mark Green’s thinking say there’s been broad frustration about communication with Tillerson over the redesign and confusion about its goals. That fits with a deeper battle between USAID and State, which have wrangled over who ought to hold the purse strings for the billions of dollars in foreign aid that the U.S. distributes each year…” (Wadhams, 1/24).

The Hill: USAID temporarily suspends involvement with Tillerson’s overhaul of State Dept
“…Clayton McCleskey, a spokesman for USAID, pushed back on the notion that the agency was disengaging from the redesign process, saying that the agency is simply awaiting clarification of the roles and responsibilities of its personnel assigned to work on the overhaul. ‘USAID remains committed to supporting the Secretary’s vision for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of State and USAID through the joint Redesign,’ McCleskey said in a statement…” (Greenwood, 1/24).