Government official unfit for the job, sound familiar?

Our most recent secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has been fired from his post by Donald Trump himself. In all of history, he is probably the most unpopular, and deemed the worst secretary of state ever selected. Someone who ran an important part of our bureaucracy could not efficiently and appropriately get the job done. Therefore, it is fit and just that he was fired at this time before he could do some serious damage.

Tillerson had one of the shortest tenures in modern history, only lasting barely over a year in his office. Interestingly enough, throughout this year, he managed to accrue several issues within the state. As a former important and wealthy Exxon Mobil CEO, he has not actually accomplished anything, but rather watched as foreign matters became increasingly difficult with time. He sat by as missiles became a concern regarding North Korea.

Some may say that it wasn’t all the fault of the former secretary of state and that rather it was the accountability of the Trump campaign. It would be extremely hard for anyone to be able to effectively carry out their duty under the chaotic administration that the White House is in at the moment. He even tended at most times to go against Trump’s wishes.  At times, he alienated the president. This most likely angered Trump and was most likely the main reason he was fired.

However, we can’t necessarily place all the blame on Trump, for he was expected to be a mature enough leader and aid within the bureaucracy, and failed. Combining Trump’s ineffectiveness within the state, his incompetence led to the resignation of a majority number of diplomats within the department, approximately 60%. He also advocated for staffing cuts and cutting the department’s budget by 30%. Many people working within the department, at this point, felt as though they were being undermined and underappreciated in terms of their skills and potential within this sect of the government. This, and the fact that he eliminated people by the number, and limited transfers within the department, dismantled the staff, and this led to a negative effect within the state.

Hiring was also delayed under his administration, and the vacancies proved devastating, postponing any necessary action to shape policy and aid in diplomatic disputes and other vital issues. He failed to nominate critical positions, though he did frequently nominate some employees, which were almost all shot down by White House aides.

It is safe to say he brought down the morality within the department, and did not understand the department of the state well enough to run it effectively. Hmm. This sounds familiar.