“There is no hollowing out. These numbers that people are throwing around are just false. They’re wrong,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 28. | Sait Serkan Gurbuz/AP Photo Tillerson fends off 'redesign' critics The secretary of state responded to scathing critiques of his plan to reshape the State Department.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday dismissed mounting criticism of his plan to restructure the State Department, insisting “there is no hollowing out” of the agency but that it can be run more efficiently and with less funding.

Addressing questions after a speech on U.S.-European relations in Washington, Tillerson shed some new light on his largely veiled plans to reshape the department. He also said many of the reports about a loss of diplomatic personnel and sunken interest in the Foreign Service were exaggerated or incorrect.


“There is no hollowing out. These numbers that people are throwing around are just false. They’re wrong,” Tillerson said.

Tillerson’s defense follows increasingly vocal complaints from Republican and Democratic lawmakers about the slow pace of what he calls the “redesign” of the department. A scathing Monday New York Times op-ed by former ambassadors Nicholas Burns and Ryan Crocker accused the secretary of “a deliberate effort to deconstruct the State Department and the Foreign Service.”

A visibly annoyed Tillerson said his critics were misinformed and relying on misleading numbers. He pointed to a widely circulated figure that State had lost 60 percent of its career ambassadors under his leadership and noted that it reflects a very small sample. In fact, Tillerson said, there were six such ambassadors when he took over in February, four of whom have since departed.

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The overall number of Foreign Service officers has barely budged, Tillerson added, noting that he has made some 2,300 exceptions to a declared hiring freeze and has rejected very few requests.

Tillerson's speech, hosted by the nonpartisan Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, reassured Europeans that America's fundamental commitment to their security has not changed under President Donald Trump. But Tillerson added that "the nations of Europe must accept greater responsibility for their own security challenges," and reiterated Trump's prior calls for America's NATO allies to increase their defense spending.

Tillerson also took a hard line on Russian aggression in Ukraine, insisting that any resolution to the conflict there would be “unacceptable” unless it results in a Ukraine that is whole, independent and sovereign. He said that Russia's actions do not reflect a "responsible nation."

At the same time, Tillerson — a former ExxonMobil CEO who dealt often with Russian leader Vladimir Putin — also said that the U.S. wants to cooperate with Russia where possible. That includes finding a political solution to the conflict in Syria, he said.

On the question of stewardship at Foggy Bottom, Tillerson did concede that the nomination process for top State Department officials had been unusually slow during his tenure, and praised the many career diplomats now serving in vacant leadership slots on an acting basis.

“The people that are serving in those roles are doing extraordinary work,” Tillerson said. “I’m offended on their behalf” by the criticism aimed at the department.

Tillerson launched the redesign process soon after taking over as secretary. He has largely supported Trump’s proposal to slash State’s budget by 30 percent — a cut leading members of Congress call unrealistic — and many believe Tillerson ultimately wants a much smaller department.

Tillerson said the department’s budget in recent years had ballooned to some $55 billion and was filled with spending inefficiencies. He also said the State Department would need less money as global conflicts wind down.

Although it’s not the first time Tillerson has made such a claim, critics note that he’s given no specifics about which conflicts he sees petering out. They warn that new conflicts could easily emerge from North Korea to Iran.

Tillerson hinted that his redesign plan may be less about the department's structure and more about its practices. One major focus, he said, will be on technology upgrades, along with revised human resources policies.

Tillerson said he was surprised to learn that many U.S. diplomats only spent a year in some overseas posts after expensive training for that specific role. Extending such tours could be one change to come, he said.