Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne TillersonGary Cohn: 'I haven't made up my mind' on vote for president in November Kushner says 'Alice in Wonderland' describes Trump presidency: Woodward book Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE released the first installment of a State Department reform plan on Thursday that may merge the department with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), CNN reports.

The "employee-led" plan was developed through a survey sent to employees of the State Department and USAID, which Tillerson said would be "the most important thing" he would accomplish as head of the department.

Tillerson suggested the State Department may merge with USAID, saying that the plan would aim to "align" the agencies' resources and improve the department's efficiency across the board as well as its technology infrastructure and human resources.

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The secretary's proposed plan comes as the Trump administration faces a series of international challenges, including over North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile programs.

Tillerson backed President Trump's plan to slash the department's budget by roughly a third, which was met by resistance from Congress.

The secretary said that his reorganization plan would work to cut more than $10 billion from the department's budget over the next five years, according to CNN.

The plan unveiled Thursday seeks to shave nearly 2,000 jobs through reforms over the next two-and-a-half years.