Marco Rubio vows to fire officials over conflicts of interest
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Citizen Digital
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned senior officials that unethical behaviour could lead to dismissal. He also asked them to coordinate major decisions with his leadership at a meeting held before recent Republican electoral defeats, according to Citizen Digital.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned senior State Department officials that any behaviour contrary to ethical rules or any conflict of interest could result in dismissal, regardless of their closeness to the administration. He also asked them not to make decisions or push policy directions without coordination, with major decisions requiring his approval or that of Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, according to four people familiar with the meeting cited by Reuters.
The meeting brought together many deputy secretaries of state, among the roughly two dozen people holding these positions. It was held after the resignation of Kimberly Guilfoyle, then US ambassador to Greece, in mid-October following reports raising suspicions that she had sold access to Trump administration officials in exchange for money, gifts and favours. Guilfoyle rejected the allegations and said she would defend her reputation, according to Reuters.
Shortly after the meeting, State Department policy chief Jeremy Lewin left his position, partly because of concerns about matters handled outside his remit without proper coordination, according to three of the people cited by Reuters. They did not present his departure as being linked to ethical misconduct. Lewin, who entered government through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, had notably taken part in dismantling the US Agency for International Development. Appointed to his senior position just over two months earlier, he had said last month that he was leaving his post to return to the private sector.
The reminder about coordination requirements came a few days after Marco Rubio was reported to be considering leaving Donald Trump’s administration ahead of the 2028 presidential election, on 5 November. This development had been reported in Marco Rubio preparing to resign from Trump administration.
