Acting Commissioner Aaron R. Fichtner delivers the convocation tackle for the Rutgers School of Management & Labor Relations.
The purge has left a gaping gap at the heart of US diplomacy: the incoming secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has but to be confirmed and the Trump workforce has not named candidates to fill several ranges of leadership beneath him. Its solely nominations thus far have been ambassadors to China and Israel. All additional nominees to senior posts will take months of security vetting and affirmation.
At the Pentagon and in Foggy Bottom, I noticed firsthand how this distinction in priorities translated into striking variations in useful resource allocation and institutional tradition. At State, despite engaged on an issue that was on the very prime of Secretary of State John Kerry’s agenda—Middle East peace—I needed to walk throughout the corridor simply to use a secure phone to name my White House … Read more