WASHINGTON _ 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 obtained by Bloomberg News. "You should not work on any Joint Redesign activities."
The decision reflects a rising frustration within the State Department and at USAID _ which operates independently but is subordinate to the department _ with Tillerson's redesign, which has been the signature initiative of his term so far.
The restructuring is intended to eliminate inefficiencies and overlap at the department but has run up against resistance within the department and in Congress, where critics say it has contributed to key positions going unfilled and plummeting morale.
A USAID spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, stressed that the agency wanted the redesign to succeed and was happy to participate. But the spokesman added that, with the redesign entering a new phase, the agency wants to be clear about the roles and responsibilities of any USAID staff who are detailed over to the effort.
At the same time, people familiar with the thinking of USAID Administrator Mark Green say there's been broad frustration about communication with Tillerson over the redesign and confusion about its goals.
Speaking to the U.S. Embassy staff in London in September, Tillerson said of the redesign, "If I accomplish that, that will go on forever, and you will create the State Department of the future."
