patrick.net

The Times reported that the newly announced State Department overhaul is part of a larger Trump initiative “to reduce and reshape the government to a degree unseen in generations.” And they never saw it coming. Secretary Rubio said Foggy Bottom’s new comprehensive plan re-focuses the agency on “America’s core national interests.” In other words, transgender musicals and swanky Davos conferences are out.

In last week’s announcement, Rubio cited one example: the “bureau for democracy, human rights and labor.” He explained it had become a vendetta platform that left-wing activists used to wage soft wars against conservative foreign leaders, such as in Poland, Hungary, and Brazil. Another awful example, the “bureau of population, refugees and migration,” sent millions of taxpayer dollars to NGOs that had promoted mass migration all over the world, including “the invasion on our southern border.” ...

Democrats can’t stand the idea, of course, because Trump. The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s top Democrat, Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), complained without evidence that the restructuring had “less to do with streamlining the State Department and more to do with eviscerating American soft power.” Or maybe it’s both streamlining and eviscerating. Just saying.