POLITICO: Tillerson vows State Dept. redesign won’t concentrate power in his hands
“As part of his plan to restructure the State Department, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is pledging not to concentrate more power in his own hands — for now — according to new material obtained Friday by POLITICO. … According to a copy of the presentation shared with POLITICO, Tillerson envisions a system where State and USAID more closely coordinate their work and rely more on data analytics to drive their policy decisions…” (Toosi, 9/15).

Reuters: State Department describes plans for cuts, offers few specifics: sources
“State Department officials briefed Senate staff on Friday on plans to cut up to $10 billion from the department’s budget over five years, but offered few specifics to ease concerns that the administration risked weakening U.S. standing in the world. … A Senate aide who attended said both Republicans and Democrats seemed frustrated at the lack of specifics…” (Zengerle, 9/15).