'That Seems To Be Pretty Undignified': Dina Titus Rips Trump Administration Over State Department Staffing Cuts

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During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing earlier this month, Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) spoke about the Trump administration's decision to cut some staff at the State Department.

Transcript

00:00The gentleman yields back. With that, Representative Titus from Nevada is

00:06recognized for five minutes. Thank you very much. I'd like to pick back up with

00:11something Ms. Kim was saying earlier about the closing of consulates. Earlier

00:16this year the department, your department, sent a preliminary notification to

00:21Congress that it was going to move to close dozens of consulates and embassies

00:26and they're around the world. They range from Luxembourg to the Maldives, from

00:31Durban, South Africa, to Busan, South Korea. I mean they're everywhere and one that I

00:37was especially concerned about was in Europe and it's Thessaloniki that plans

00:43to close the consulate there in Thessaloniki, Greece and I think this is

00:47at a time of real rising geopolitical instability especially in that part of

00:53the world where Greece plays such a key role. The consulate there especially, it's

00:58ensuring the potential of the base at Alexandropoli and the port at Thessaloniki.

01:06It plays a role in the implementation of IMEC. It's helping people come to the

01:12Olympics. I just wonder, without the consulate, aren't the beneficiaries of

01:17our not being there going to be China and Russia? And given your experience and

01:22connections there, do you really think that's a good idea?

01:25So I don't think there's been any move to close the consulate in Thessaloniki. I

01:31do know a review was done of all of our overseas posts to assess their costs to

01:37the American taxpayer, to assess their benefits to the American taxpayer, to

01:41assess any revenue. As you know, consulates can generate revenue through fees

01:46and these applications. But my understanding is I don't think any decisions have

01:51been made regarding closure, but people may be drawing conclusions from that

01:55analysis if they're looking at a consulate that maybe is very high cost or is in

01:59a remote area or is not providing substantial benefit. But I'd be happy to look at

02:03any particular concerns you have about individual consulates.

02:07Well, I appreciate that because when the Secretary came to the committee, I asked

02:11him about how we're going to process visas for people to come for upcoming Olympics and the

02:17World Cup if you're cutting these different consulates, because that's where a lot of

02:20people go. And he said, and I'll quote him, there is no proposal at this time to

02:25close embassies or consulates. There has been media reporting because people like to

02:30legalize, but there's been no such proposal and I think I would know.

02:35Well, we're not hearing any more specifics, whether it's what's happening with the study,

02:41is it going forward? Are you going to consult with Congress because that's the law before

02:46you close any of these overseas posts?

02:49Oh, certainly. I mean, we've consulted on the reorganization that we've just begun to

02:54undertake. And I think, you know, my understanding is we provide briefings, I think eight briefings

02:59per day to the Congress on various activities that are happening at the department. So I don't

03:05think this would be any different.

03:06Well, if you can help me get that information, I'd appreciate it because I think China is

03:12expanding its diplomatic footprint while we're decreasing ours. That seems to be not in our

03:19strategic interest. Another thing I'd like to ask you about is what Ranking Member Meeks

03:25was talking about with the present assignment of Foreign Service employees not being a factor

03:31for rifts. I think that was kind of the conclusion that he drew based on a circulated department

03:38memo back from May. But we know that's not true because just last month, without talking

03:44to Congress, y'all changed the Foreign Affairs Manual. And that's the document that sets out

03:50the procedure for rifts. And that makes it easier to fire Foreign Service officers. And when committee

03:56staff repeatedly reached out to try to get details on the rifts, they were told that the

04:01department wouldn't provide such details in order to protect that I'm quoting the dignity

04:07of the workforce. So I wonder if you'll just explain to us what about the dignity of the workforce

04:13was protected when you just sent 1300 employees home and said, thanks, but no thanks.

04:19Well, certainly thank you. I mean, look, no one wants to be on the receiving end of a reduction

04:24in force notice. You know, this happens all the time in the private sector. It happens, you know,

04:30I think President, you know, Clinton, he reduced the federal workforce by I think 377,000 employees,

04:37the federal workforce was reduced by 220,000 under President Obama. But we wanted to make sure that

04:45any employee was not finding out through media reports that they were going to be losing their

04:52job. We had a sacred responsibility to tell them individually directly from the department

04:58about their particular job situation, and that we didn't want them to get that notification from

05:04anyone else.

05:05But some of the reasons for why they were ripped were just like coincidence of being in the country,

05:10not anything that they had done or the job wasn't needed. I mean, that seems to be pretty

05:15undignified. But thank you, and I guess my time is up.

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