WaPo: State Department's 'entire senior management team' resigns
A widely shared Washington Post piece reported that the State Department's entire senior management team had suddenly resigned in Trump's first week, which many outlets framed as a protest exodus.
The framing suggested career officials were quitting en masse rather than serve Trump.
What was reported
A widely shared Washington Post piece reported that the State Department's entire senior management team had suddenly resigned in Trump's first week, which many outlets framed as a protest exodus.
What actually happened
The departures involved Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy and three deputies. State said they had submitted resignations at the start of the new administration, as is standard for officials in such posts, and that the administration had chosen to accept them. A senior official said any suggestion that the four had quit was wrong. The Post later changed its headline from 'management' to 'administrative' team without an editor's note, while the reporter said he stood by the story.
The proof
State Department statements that the officials were let go under normal transition practice rather than quitting in protest, plus the Post's unannounced headline change.
The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:
WaPo: State Department's 'entire senior management team' resigns — Debunked. State Department statements that the officials were let go under normal transition practice rather than quitting in protest, plus the Post's unannounced headline change. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/wapo-state-department-mass-resignation/
Original reporting
- Washington Monthly summary of the Post report (Jan 26, 2017)https://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/01/26/the-entire-senior-management-team-at-the-state-department-has-resigned/
Corrections, findings & records
- Vox (reprinted by ProtoThema): Viral Washington Post story on State resignations is very misleadinghttps://en.protothema.gr/2017/01/27/a-viral-washington-post-story-about-state-department-resignations-is-very-misleading/
- Snopes: Senior State Department officials resignhttps://www.snopes.com/2017/01/26/senior-state-department-officials-resign/
- Government Executive: State Department loses top management teamhttps://govexec.com/management/2017/01/state-department-loses-top-management-team-trumps-first-week/134904
Archived copies
Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.
- Archived copy: Washington Monthly summary of the Post report (Jan 26, 2017)https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/01/26/the-entire-senior-management-team-at-the-state-department-has-resigned/