The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2020 19 The men and women of the Foreign Service and civil servants at the State Department have demonstrated their com- mitment to supporting the American people. In the midst of this unprec- edented pandemic, they were at the front lines of efforts to bring stranded Americans home, often risking their own safety, to reunite families. —Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) I applaud our dedicated State Department officials, both at home and around the world, whose tireless efforts brought hundreds of Utahns and their loved ones safely home. —Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) As the world faces unprecedented chal- lenges amid the corona- virus pandemic, our State Department officials in the U.S. and abroad continue their tireless efforts to help Americans stranded overseas return home safely. —Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) COVID-19 has placed unimaginable strains on our State Department, especially the Foreign Service and For- eign Service Nationals serving globally on behalf of the American people. We salute their dedication and per- sonal sacrifice during the emergence of this pandemic. —Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) HEARD ON THE HILL JOSH on keeping critical medical items in the United States until demand is met here,” Secretary Pompeo said on April 7. Trump Fires State Inspector General O n May 15, President Donald Trump fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick. It was the latest in a series of firings of federal inspectors general. Congressional Democrats responded by opening an investigation into what they said “might be an illegal act of retaliation.” On May 18, in a telephone interview with The Washington Post , Secretary Pom- peo confirmed that he asked the president to fire Linick because the IG “wasn’t per- forming a function in a way that we had tried to get him to, that was additive for the State Department.” He said he did not know that the inspector general’s office was investigating him on other matters. On June 3, Linick testified before the House Foreign Affairs and the Oversight and ReformCommittees in a closed- door session. Linick told lawmakers that Under Secretary of State for Management Brian Bulatao, a close friend of Secretary Pompeo, repeatedly tried to “bully” him to drop his investigation into the Secretary’s use of an emergency declaration to push through an $8.1 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, Politico reported. Linick testified further that several senior aides to Secretary Pompeo were also aware of an OIG investigation into his use of State Department resources for per- sonal errands, ABC News reported June 3. “I have not heard any valid reason that would justify my removal,” Linick testified, according to Politico. A career government official, Linick was appointed State Department inspec- tor general by President Barack Obama in 2013. President Trump replaced himwith Stephen Akard, who was serving as head of the State’s Office of Foreign Missions and planned to continue in that job while serving as IG. Akard, who was an FSO for eight years and previously worked for then Governor Mike Pence in Indiana, began work as inspector general on May 18. Although the standard grace period is 30 days, Linick was out immediately. Several Republicans also voiced concern over the Linick firing. “The President has not provided the kind of justification for the removal of IG Linick required by this law,” Senator Susan Col- lins (R.-Maine) tweeted May 18, referring to a 2008 law that requires presidents to provide detailed reasons for removing inspectors general. Senator Chuck Grassley (R.-Iowa), a longtime advocate of inspectors general, agreed. “As I’ve said before, Congress requires written reasons justifying an IG’s removal. A general lack of confidence simply is not sufficient detail to satisfy Congress,” he wrote in a statement, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 17. U.S. to Withdraw from Open Skies Treaty T he United States will withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty, an arms control pact designed to reduce the chance of military miscalculations between signatories, CNN reported on May 21. The pact, which entered into force on Jan. 1, 2002, allows its 35 signatories to Comments on Bipartisan Resolution Praising State