The Russians and Racists Party gave us Trump--they are both one and the same now. So, we have an entire party and the Presidency as domestic enemies--every thing they do only hurts our country and helps out Russia and Saudi Arabia. All these deaths and the death of our country just so Kushner and Trump and their cronies can line their pockets? Patriots? No, traitors and history will judge them harshly. But, we do thank you for your service, I hope you will offer to testify before Congress. We need the mini-movie to go with your New York Times novella.
20
You folks who think there is a tomorrow, a point of recovery, really gave me a whooping laugh. Just wait ‘til you see that your country has been ridden with Timothy McVeigh and his ilk. Good luck rooting that out (without a real civil war).
- Okie on the other side of the Atlantic
9
Oh, my dear, we are not a democracy!This was made abundantly clear in the last election and the recent court ruling that electoral college members can vote any way they wish. We must know popular votes count for nothing! Eliminate the ec!
23
You took a stand! Bravo.
22
A very important piece!!!!! Thank you Bethany for speaking out. And yes it is very clear we must work hard to vote the current president and his self serving, narcissistic personality out of office!!!!!! The sooner the better.........................
21
This personal essay by Ms. Milton also serves as a reflection upon all the Agencies that make up the Federal Government under this Administration.
The seasoned staff, the boots on the ground that make up the experts at the EPA, Dept. of Education, DOE, and every other Agency face this same dilemma.
What we have witnessed these past 2.67 years is the systematic and severe degradation of the Federal Government, across the board.
How and when do these thousands of experts get replaced? What professionally minded person would want to work under such conditions, where the goal of the Administration is to destroy the very Agencies they have trained to serve?
Trump has crippled the infrastructure of our Federal Government, just as Republicans and Democrats have allowed the physical infrastructure of our Country to crumble.
No stone is being left unturned on the path to drowning the baby in the bathtub.
21
When the dust finally settles on the Trump administration we will finally be forced to realize that the fringe forces that sought to burn our government down will have won their battle.
These cynical people decided that the solution to our ills was smaller government and knowing that they couldn't succeed legislatively, they chose to use Mr. Trump as the bomb to destroy our institutions.
But I remain hopeful. Winning a battle is not the same as winning a war. This battle will cost us in many ways that its proponents did not account for and we will bleed for their wrathful efforts. But while the damage from this battle will be felt for a generation, I don't believe they've won their war.
I believe a new Greatest Generation made up of Americans from all colors, all faiths, and all creeds will arise and repair the wasteful damage their parents caused.
10
Somewhere miscreants like Steve Bannon are very happy . The hollowing out of the government- or the "deep state" as these nihilistic libertarians put it- is unfortunately aided by resignations like these. And that is more than a small part of the tragedy involved in the administration* of this accidentally selected president*.
The Electoral College was a creation built to protect the slave-owning states in our nation, and it serves yet another grisly purpose in electing this un-american president*.
5
Bravo! Thanks for your courage in standing up for the principles and values that make this country great rather than the racism, hatred, and divisiveness of the current administration. They can't be ousted soon enough!
7
Totally agree with Brett. I would vote 3rd party rather than voting for Elizabeth Warren. Elizabeth Warren has no chance of beating Trump...he will make mincemeat out of her. She is another Harvard Capitalist using planks in her platform developed by Bernie. She is a wolf in sheep's clothing proposing social Democratic policies and yet calling herself a Capitalist. Predatory Capitalism serves only the wealthy. Voters are sick and tired of the same old "Republican Lite" Democratic policies that don't work for the majority but promote the wealthy beneficiaries of the military industrial complex. Pete would be my first choice except that he lacks name recognition. He brings a young, fresh, smart approach to problem solving.
Bernie is the only consistent, experienced candidate versed in social Democratic policies which support the majority of people. He understands that money in politics has destroyed Democracy in our country and corrupts every branch of our government. Bernie has the experience, appeal, tenacity and knowledge to outwit Trump and win the presidency and implement policies that benefit everyone.
1
Totally agree with Brett. I would vote 3rd party rather than voting for Elizabeth Warren. Elizabeth Warren has no chance of beating Trump...he will make mincemeat out of her. She is another Harvard Capitalist using planks in her platform developed by Bernie. She is a wolf in sheep's clothing proposing social Democratic policies and yet calling herself a Capitalist. Predatory Capitalism serves only the wealthy. Voters are sick and tired of the same old "Republican Lite" Democratic policies that don't work for the majority but promote the wealthy beneficiaries of the military industrial complex. Pete would be my first choice except that he lacks name recognition. He brings a young, fresh, smart approach to problem solving.
Bernie is the only consistent, experienced candidate versed in social Democratic policies which support the majority of people. He understands that money in politics has destroyed Democracy in our country and corrupts every branch of our government. Bernie has the experience, appeal, tenacity and knowledge to outwit Trump and win the presidency and implement policies that benefit everyone.
Thank you, Ms. Milton!
7
Brava. Rest. and Godspeed.
10
Trump has exposed and actualized the darkest heart of the modern Republican Party. Congressional members of the Party of Lincoln now substitute American flag lapel pins for whatever sense of honor and duty to our country they once had.
They know Trump is unfit for office but lack the courage to publicly resist or offer their own resignations. When John McCain died, courage apparently left the Senate.
10
Much as I respect her decision, it seems a bit hasty. Personally, I would retain my position, doing as much good as possible until the 2020 election. If Trump is deposed she could then be part of the rebuilding process. If not, she can then resign and, with the rest of us, watch democracy go down the drain.
3
Thank you for your service and courage.
5
What a wonderful account by someone dedicated to public service to our nation.
What I especially loved is that Ms. Milton went from serving her government on her last day in the State Department, to thereafter serving the nation to remove a president whom she considers a threat.
It is also important to know that many remaining in federal government jobs who do not interact with trumpy officials, do so to ensure everything doesn't collapse.
19
I think the present administration's immigration policies, for legal immigration and otherwise, are indefensible, but I also think the President is right to be demanding a reform of immigration laws and programs. For starters, I think visa processing is disjointed and lacks the necessary monitoring of compliance: tracking the whereabouts and activities of visa holders, and expelling violators. I think a reform of the Consular Service is very much needed. The notion that immigration must be "merit-based," so that visa recipients be educated and/or techno-smart makes sense, but it could mean that immigrants under such a program could jeopardize jobs for U.S. citizens with those credentials; whereas current policies jeopardize only low-skill jobs. That could mean that immigration reform should be linked with better education policies.
1
I retired from the Foreign Service well before Mr. Trump took office. I respect Ms. Milton for her decision, especially because the Foreign Service correctly describes itself as not just a career, but a way of life. Giving it up is difficult...something I probably wouldn't have had the courage to do...at least after I had invested a lot of time in it (and Ms. Milton invested ten years). But maybe I would have: how many times can one meet foreign officials to advocate outlandish policies or policies which turn on a dime to their opposites based on a Presidential tweet? Self-respect imposes limits.
I solidly endorse the suggestion of another reader who proposed that, if Trump is defeated in 2020, the next President initiate a full court press to lure back to the State Department the many talented people of all levels who either have been pushed out or resigned in disgust during this Administration. Their exodus has badly weakened the Department at a dangerous time in the world when we need competence more than ever, and you do not rebuild such competence in less than a decade or more simply by hiring totally new people at junior level.
13
Good riddance to you, you obviously don't know the difference between American citizens and illegal aliens, that should be you first point of business. The fact you didn't complain about the so called travel ban when it was introduce by then President Obama tells the real story here. Thank God we are draining the swamp.
2
Please send this article to newspapers in Indiana, Alebama, Arizona, Louisiana, etc etc... where it might reach a few thousand voters who are now under the Trump spell.
12
Brava, Bethany Milton. What a travesty that Trump and his minions no doubt consider you "weak" and a traitor. As you know there are no limits to their treachery nor to the delight they take in destroying what is best about our country.
13
Thanks for writing this story, thanks for sticking around so long.
http://www.thecriticalmom.blogspot.com
6
The sad part is that is what trump and his awful band of incompetent fools want to do: shrink the government. Just look at other agencies. They are shedding all the people of integrity. Just look at the white house staff. Anyone with integrity has left. All that are left are lickspittles.
11
Bravo! Thank you for having the courage to stand up for your convictions and resign from Government rather than support our disgusting, immoral, racist President. Welcome back and it's great to have you working with everyone fighting to defeat Trump and the immoral racist Republicans in every election from this day until our last day.
10
I read this essay while listening to CNN report on the most recent lies our “President” is spewing at the G7. I am profoundly sorry that a person with your excellent character and intelligence is forced to give up a promising career due to the questionable election of a dangerous tyrant.
I hope you find a new rewarding career, perhaps if the Democrats win, a return to public service. Or as one commenter recommended, run for political office yourself!
6
Thank you for your service!
7
The only problem is, presumably, someone under "trump's" spell/thumb will take your place.
5
The bigger question is what is in the hearts of those who choose to work for this destructive administration? It is one thing to be a career government employee who gets caught up in regime change. It is another when people actively work to get this cretin and his enablers elected, or help to implement his harmful, ignorant policies.
Shame on all who allow their career goals and greed to work for this abomination of a man.
7
All the democratic candidates for President should pledge to appoint only knowledgeable professionals to all departments of government.
3
State Dept. isn't the only agency being hollowed out. We're losing a generation of expertise in a variety of areas -- environmental protection among them -- because they see no purpose in staying. People generally don't go into government work to get rich, and many can make more in the private sector. And they will. Who knows how long it will take to replace that expertise and rebuild their organizations?
6
I understand Ms. Milton's reasons for going, but regrettably she'll now be replaced by another who probably agrees with this administrations policies and will do all in their power to enforce them.
2
I do not think many, probably most in the Trump Party, previously known as Republican party, view the State Department as the main foreign policy apparatus to help the President & his administration. They seem to view it rather an obstacle to implement the whims & dictates of Emperor Trump and his henchmen in the administration. Besides Trump himself, the two most powerful people in shaping American foreign policy, seems to be his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who are more like Donald Trump and tend to think the same way to benefit personally than promoting *American* national interest. And Republican establishment, its senators/Congressmen seem to be perfectly fine with that.
Not sure, how American Democracy would survive when one of the two parties are so complacent, probably compromised, and cease to function as a responsible political party and act more like an activist group. It would be interesting to see how GOP evolve once Trump is defeated, hopefully by Nov 2020. Would it collapse to pave the way for a modern & more responsible political party or some worse fanatic/bigot replaces Trump!
8
1. "Democracy in America"? De Tocqueville is rolling in his tomb. Indeed, we still retain the ability to talk without fear of being sent to the gulag at dawn the next morning. But not much else (Gillens and Page)
2. "Four more years" and the State Department, AND most of our institutions will have been destroyed. We will have gone from "the country of hope for humanity" post VWI,I to "The Death Star."
3. We must flush-out the current regime in 2020. Democracy in America, will then regain some of its attraction
The real shame is that this outcome is exactly what The Dictator wants: a decimated government that is easier to control.
6
Thank you for this thoughtful article.
1
What a powerful essay. This administration betrays America every day in exchange for vindictive, hateful policies.
6
What a clear and wonderful statement of commitment to truth, external and internal. Thank you and hopefully, your difficult decision and your example will be followed by an increasing number of others.
Only when we refuse to work with and support tyrants will they lose their power and perhaps America can return to its foundation values.
Living abroad and trying to answer for America is increasingly difficult and frustrating. See https://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/brazil/life-brazil/opinion-defending-the-indefensible/.
As you are doing, we can only work to change things the traditional American way - with a free vote at the ballot box.
3
Thank you, Ms Milton, for your service to our diplomatic corps, and for sacrificing your career for principled reasons. I have long feared that trump would drive competent people from our bureaucracy, and replace them with the criminals, incompetents, and hangers-on who support him for whatever reason. One of the jobs of trump's replacement will to be to root out these vermin and replace them with principled candidates.
5
Now, far more than ever, civil servants need to keep their heads down and stay they course; it is essential to keep this ship of fools afloat.
Rubes may refer to the "deep state," thank God for it as it is the glue that hold the administration's tatters together.
2
What a shame that our State Department has been gutted by Donald J Trump! Which is exactly what Putin wanted. He is a traitor. And the men and women in the State Department, the Department of Justice, the EPA, etc.,etc., are American heroes! One day we will hear their stories and recognize Trump’s capricious destruction of our government!
Please vote!
7
Thank you for your service. The Trump poison has infected so much of America. We must completely cut out the conservative cancer in 2020.
5
My father taught me that in life you ought to have chutes and figure out firm grounds to land. He also told me that professional decisions based on moral conflicts are tough and only those who really know you may understand the choices you make.
When you work as a public servant you come to many of these crossroads. If you hold a moral stand, you know what you should do. The finality is that if nothing changes one departs following the one's moral azimuth. Thus, a huge weight lifts, but other stressful variables impose differenty, especially on career, money, family, and relations with collegues.
But the best is the end of the moral corrosion that was torturing mind and soul.
For the federal employee, the worst is when one loses the trust and the confidence of the leadership in matters of life and death. Leave to fight another day or stay and die by thousands cuts?
It takes mind, heart, and courage to answer the higher call.
It is interesting to read the criticism of some to her decision. Sounds more like self-justification for the lack of moral courage in a self-serving career.
If the moron is ripping this country apart, the mending will need new blood from outside.
2
Ms. Milton,
Thank you for your courage, your clarity, your intelligence and your service.
It is people of your caliber in public service who affirm the true values of this great nation, and in stepping down you become a powerful role model for all of your colleague serving an amoral and despicable person who threatens the very fabric of our democracy.
3
Steve Bannon told America that the goal of this administration is to destroy the administrative state. They are draining our government of the very people needed to run it.
Thank you Ms. Milton for your service, and I hope you find employment with an organization designed to rebuild our broken country after the current administration ends.
5
Bethany Milton: I'm a retired FSO who "got out" just in time, before the 2016 election. My retirement was planned and carried out in an orderly and bureaucratic manner, as most retirements are. It was planned after 35 years of service under both democratic an republican administrations. I remember saying to other nationalities who were criticizing President Bush (2), "I'm sure he is doing what he believes is best for the country". This was my stock answer during the Bush administration. It was used A LOT because he was the president most criticized up to that point. His administration actually looks pretty good now.
What I want to say to you now, is: Thank you for your service. You deserve better. We all do.
6
Once I was an American immigrant on the other side of your work. My red line came with Vietnam and I left the country. Congratulations for facing your red line. It gives hope to all of us.
1
Thank you for your service, Bethany. It is very sad that the current administration has undermined the values such as tolerance that have made this nation great. The bigotry and nativism are extreme and unAmerican. While you did the right thing, your leaving is a great loss to the nation. Wish you the best in the next phase of your career.
5
Ms. Milton, Thank you for your service. I applaud your principled decision, however it is a loss for our country.
This is yet another example of how the trump administration is deconstructing our government, one principled employee at a time.
To those who believe that all will be well when (if) trump looses the 2010 election- the destruction he is causing to the government is immeasurable. The ongoing destruction is intentional, and it will likely take decades to undue the harm that has occurred through the trashing of national and international norms, the destruction of federal agencies through cuts and mismanagement, the loss of valuable employees through absurd mandates and mandatory transfers, the appointment of agency heads who openly and publicly vow to dismantle their agency.....I could fill pages with the destruction that has been brought by this administration.
Can the damage truly be repaired?
4
Welcome home Bethany. So many of stand with you and admire your convictions and courage. And, like you, we await new (and real) leadership with much impatience.
4
Facts- And all apply even before Trump and his band of racists.
In 2016, the United States government detained nearly 360,000 people in a sprawling system of over 200 immigration jails across the country.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency that runs the detention system, subcontracts the majority of detention space to county jails and private prison companies.
Immigrants in detention include undocumented and documented immigrants, many who have been in the U.S. for years and are now facing exile, as well as survivors of torture, asylum seekers and other vulnerable groups including children, pregnant women, and individuals who are seriously ill.
In detention, immigrants are often subjected to harsh conditions of confinement and denied access to adequate medical care, legal counsel and family contact. Since 2003, a reported 180 people have died in immigration custody.
As part of the growth of mass incarceration in the United States, Congress has expanded the mandatory detention of immigrants to unprecedented levels. Roughly 70 percent of immigrants in detention are mandatorily detained, meaning their incarceration is automatic and required without any kind of individualized assessment.
Mandatory detention leads to the long-term jailing of people with pending immigration cases. Because of the increasing backlog in immigration court and the already lengthy legal processes, people spend years in both harmful and costly detention centers across the U.S.
As a retired Foreign Service Officer, I served under Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Never in my years of service did I ever doubt the competency of the occupants of the Oval Office. I didn't always agree with the policies, but I knew that it was my job to execute those policies. I feel for Ms. Milton. Serving this president is not like anything I ever had to face. I commend her for the decision to resign. It's a principled move and one she will ultimately be happy with, even though our country suffers for the loss of the professional cadres that are the core of the government.
614
@The Owl
Were a State Department employee to overtly work to undercut democratically elected policy, then you might have reason for concern.
For an individual human being to resign rather than act against their personal integrity and morals, is of no concern. If anything, we should applaud it as consistent with our core value of individual freedom of choice.
What IS of concern is that so many of Ms. Milton's colleagues are making the same choice that she did. Generations of State Department workers, many choosing that profession out of their pride in American values, and they leave because American values are not being upheld?
That's not "deep state". That's American freedom in action.
158
Not quite democratically. Electoral college-ly perhaps. The popular vote is a democratic method of election. What we have here is something very different. And this administration should be impetus enough for us to get rid of that antiquated and flawed institution and replace it with true, representative democracy.
36
@ImagineMoments I am concerned for her. I am concerned for the nation because the likes of her must make such a decision. And I am concerned over what may happen to her in the future, as the machine grinds her up as she seeks a new line of activity.
Otherwise, I agree with your remarks.
9
A major plank in the Democratic Party 2020 platform should be a pledge to rebuild our shattered State Department. In addition, the eventual candidate should beg the seasoned professionals still remaining to carry on until January 2021 and also to plead with professionals like Ms. Milton to return and help undertake this daunting project.
548
@Phillip Usher. That is part of Elizabeth Warren's position paper on Foreign Policy.
jm, retired Foreign Service Officer
35
@joan I didn't know, but not surprised. She's my favorite. I'll look it up, thanks.
24
@Phillip Usher No one would vote on a plank of a 'restored state department.' let's not waste our breath or open the candidates to charges of 'not being America first.' Just organize voters around key principles of affordable health care, housing that is affordable if you work every day, a return to decency in public discussions and a firm belief in the words of our constitution and declaration of independence.
3
Thank you for what you did.
Someone like you gave me a visa to legally enter the United States 28 years ago as a young student.
Today I am a doctor taking care of the sickest patients in a major hospital and a faculty teaching young American doctors. I can very proudly state that in the 20 years of practice, many hundreds of American lives has been brought back from the brink of death due to my direct, attributable actions and care. I have also held hands and offered comfort for dying people when the best medicine could not save their lives and been their family when they didn’t have one. I have given my everything to my patients when I cared for them and tried to pass on those values to young doctors.
When I take care of these people, in addition to care, compassion and skills, I also have the added component of gratitude towards this great country and it’s people that opened its generous arms to me and gave me tremendous opportunities to succeed. I see that big heart in every American. That’s the land I believed in. That’s the America I now call home.
688
@Surya What a beautiful note about the passion you have for your career and your country. Thank you for coming to America!
80
@Surya That is wonderful. I hope you are supporting medical education and care in the country you left.
13
@Surya
I’m very glad you’re here. I hope it’s not too late to say
“ Welcome “. Trump and his Collaborators are not the real America, they are an aberration, a black hole of spite, Racism and ignorance. They will implode, and take down the GOP with them.
Hallelujah.
30
I am glad there are future elections to come - just hate for past elections to come.
1
Well, our boy-emperor promised to "drain the swamp". He's keeping his word, draining our government of its talent, its morals, its compassion. its rules, its intelligence, its civil discourse, its world leadership, and its system of compromise.
Problem is, he's turning a swamp into a cesspool.
10
So sad. Hopefully, when this temporary disaster is over, we can come up with a systematic and reasonable way to restore what we’ve lost through trump. It is going to be tough to avoid increased partisanship when we face all these hopeless incompetents and rightwing neanderthals that have been placed by trump.
3
When Sean Spicer and his ilk declare "either get with the program" or go, they place people who care about their professional credibility in an impossible position. Would he expect State Department employees to agree that Putin is to be believed and not our intelligence agencies? Would he expect those employees to keep up with and state agreement to the almost daily changing position on Chinese tariffs, including trade wars are easy to win? How would he expect State Department employees to respond if asked if they believe that some neo-Nazis are good people too?
I recognize that Donald Trump believes he is an extremely stable genius. But is impossible for any government employee to mount a credible defense for staying "with the program" when the program is anything but stable. Perhaps that is why Spicer is now Dancing With the Stars rather than following the lead of one.
5
A real mess.
But never fear! The so called “Green” Party is compiling its talking points from Republican operatives as we speak.
They will rescue Trump next year!
Hope you can return to the State Department under the next administration.
4
If you can no longer morally support your employers it is time to leave, only you can decide where your red line lies and you should be supported in that. It takes guts to stand up and be counted, so I applaud your decision. In fact it is a pity that more people, especially those working in the White House, do not follow your example. The racist Trump must be removed from Office, if somehow he is not in 2020 then the international community will conclude that the USA is no longer a democracy.
4
“This above all: To thine own self be true.”
William Shakespeare
7
It’s just as well, Ms. Milton. You are an intelligent, principled patriot. Clearly you are not Mr. Trump’s type.
Come back when we send him back to where he came from in 2020.
8
Thank you for going public with your reasons to leave the State department. This is a story worthy of an audience especially since, like you mentioned, many officials pack up their things and leave quietly. One thing I've often thought about is Trump's claim that the US is finally 'respected again' under his leadership. I am a diplomat and in my 20 years in this business I have never witnessed this amount of disrespect towards an American administration by other countries' officials as now. I wish more people knew that. Where are America's friends and allies going to be a year or five years from now?
625
According to David Cay Johnston's book about the Trump administration, the process of pushing out, firing, or otherwise causing long time staff to leave is happening in all Federal agencies and departments. Decades of expertise are being lost as people who can't accept Trump's values leave their departments. Trump is doing to the entire federal government what he did to the White House: replacing trained, experienced, competent people with those who obey unconditionally whatever bizarre, cruel, illegal, or ineffective policy he comes up with. You may agree with the GOP and Trump's deconstruction of government, but don't complain later as you see the impact of having a government of people who only tell Trump what he wants to hear. Welcome to the idiocracy.
1131
@Bonnie: Unfortunately, that's exactly what the GOP has been pushing for decades. Apparently, they never learn from real-world experience that it just doesn't work. Sadly, too many voters keep buying that poisoned Kool-Aid.
38
@Bonnie
Well said, but in your closing, don't you mean the "kakistocracy"?
16
Bethany Milton,
You are a true American. Your resignation and essay represents the kind of courage and integrity that truly does make America great.
My father was an immigrant. He used to tell me with his broken English, "Son, I come to Ameriki to have mine children. Ameriki is da greatest country in da vorld."
He told me that over and over again since I was a very little boy. He came here not for riches or religious freedom or any political ideology. He just wanted to be dad and America was the best place on earth to be one.
That's what immigration does. It's not a zero sum game where we can tabulate profit increases from who gets in. It's about people's lives and their wanting to contribute, to become an American.
My dad never made much money, but he worked until he was past just past 70, all broken down. He took the bus to work and carried his black lunch pail. And he often brought home a little box of treats from a local bakery on the way home.
He fought in WWII. He paid his taxes. He raised three children. He was a true American as are you.
We could use a few more people like that.
1913
@Bruce Rozenblit - Thank you for your letter. Thank you also Ms. Milton for your essay. Very sad.
221
@Bruce Rozenblit
What a fine man and what a beautiful memory. Success is not in wealth but in legacies of kindness and love like this one.
154
Mr. Rozenblit - I deeply appreciate your always thoughtful commentaries. Having a similar family history (different enthnicity), this one resonated with me deeply. Thanks again - Michael Colacchio, Rohnert Park, CA
152
If Ms. Bethany is the deep state I am in a state of awe. How well we-the-people are served by such bureaucrats. This is what America is about and not the dystopian world of Trump's making.
8
@Judi I know! People are so glib with who they think are the Deep State when I believe it’s actually Trump & his cronies. It doesn’t make sense otherwise.
3
I'd like to say that this is just a "Trump" problem but age does sometimes bring a degree of wisdom and a longer perspective. In 1980 the nation elected an affable con man named Ronald Reagan. Reagan convinced a large part of the nation that their government was the problem and that a slash and burn approach to governance would yield better results and free the engine of unrestrained capitalism for the common good. It was a load of hooey from a man fronting for the plutocracy that is always in wait and dislikes restraint. Trump is just the latest on that theme and his sideshow disguises something far more insidious than immigration and foreign policy driven by nationalism and bigotry. My point is that there is a layer of society that hides in the shadows and profits from undermining accountability and restraint. It is wealthy and powerful and likes Trump. It doesn't like an effective or compassionate Foreign Service and finds the chaos and confusion they can limit more to its liking. There is profit in war and the constant preparation for it. Much more so than in the State Department as any review of federal budget priorities can demonstrate. The loss of career employees and the undermining of the government that comes from that loss is intentional and serves someones needs, look there and a better understanding of our carnival barker president and the money behind him emerges, the rest is just fog.
12
Excellent! Glad this person is out of the government, instead of staying in and actively working against the will of the American people. Look at the federal judiciary!
Well done!
6
@John Galt. She didn’t leave the “will of the people” as that is 100% not happening in the WH. She left the will of one egomaniac that feels being president loyalty is to him and not America. We need to vote this traitor out stat. I don’t think you are paying attention.
5
@John Galt Trumpism in no way reflects "the will of the people." Virtually nothing Trump wants is supported by a majority of the people. Trumpism is a nasty brutal niche ideology in American society, which has temporary power owing to a bizarre hiccup in electoral process. The "will of the people" is not racist, suppressive, congenitally untruthful, nor in favor of incompetence. This op-ed writer is a true American. Trumpism is at odds with core American values.
4
We are going to protect this country against overpopulation.
The world population has increased from about 3 billion in 1960 to almost 8 billion today (a doubling time of a little over 40 years, assuming exponential growth).
US population has increased over the same time frame from about 179 million to almost 330 million (a doubling time of just over 60 years). Both India and China are getting close to 1.4 billion inhabitants, right now.
IMAGINE OUR CHILDREN LIVING IN A WORLD WITH 16 BILLION PEOPLE, and a U.S. with almost 700 million.
WE HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO OVERPOPULATE OUR COUNTRY, just because other people have already ruined theirs with UNCONTROLLED POPULATION GROWTH.
Immigration and population control are not forms of racism,
just common sense.
10
@Raz
I am curious. ¿What portion of the increase is due to immigration (1st and 2nd generation)? ¿What portion is tied to the increasing life-span)? You are correct that if there are too many people now, there will be far too many in the future. Unfortunately the economy is dependent on either an increasing or stable population. With climate change there will be fewer places to live (too hot or underwater).
28
@Marco Andres
Time for a new economic paradigm, one that doesn't rely on population increase to sustain it.
As far as the increase, most is due to immigration. After immigrants are here for 2 or 3 generations, they achieve an almost zero growth rate.
Life span isn't really increasing. A child born in the U.S. today, has a shorter predicted life span than those born a few short years ago.
8
@Raz Well, this administration's policies regarding women's reproductive health are in direct OPPOSITION to your claims about overpopulation.
46
I tried to give this administration one hundred days. I didn't make it. I told my supervisor that I planned to retire eleven days after POTUS Trump's inauguration. I retired two months later, approximately six years earlier than I'd planned to retire. I couldn't do it. I stayed for two months to help transition the three people who took over my tasks.
8
Welcome home.
Your anguish represents the pain of all those struggling for a better life who will now be denied the chance they should have had, and the pain all decent Americans feel as we continue to see our nation run into the ground. Thank you for your service.
Now let’s work to dump Trump and then let’s make America truly great again.
16
My father was long ago one of those Indians waiting for an American immigration visa in Bombay (Mumbai) in the late 1969s. America provided him a much better lifecycle and he gave a lot of his talent to the financial operations of an American company. He served America as a law abiding, tax paying citizen who added to the cultural richness of this unique nation.
A good friend of mine, one of the brightest people I know, passed tge Foreign Service exam, known to be a very tough test. The Foreign Service is or was—composed of a highly intelligent and thoughtful group of Americans. Donald Trump himself would never have passed the exam or had any ability to function as a diplomat since his sociopathy prevents him from seeing through the eyes of others. It does not prevent him from destruction. His policies and vile behavior have caused five people like this officer to flee the Foreign Service, It will not be easy to resurrect this vital body after Trump leaves office A whole generation of young people have been turned off government service because of the Neanderthal in the so al Office destroying everything good about the American state.
13
I salute you for calling out the damage that madness does at the ground level.
Good luck with your campaign. If Trump gets another 4 years I shudder to think of what will happen to the US. I doubt even god will be able to help.
6
I cannot be anything but hugely respectful of you Bethany. Thank you for your courage and your principles. My biggest worry, though, with the trickling exodus of people like you is this: what kind of people are replacing you?!
5
While I applaud Ms. Milton’s distaste for this administration’s uncompassionate, racist immigration policies, I disagree with her inflexible “support-it-or-leave” position. The praiseworthiness of civil disobedience has a firm grounding in moral philosophy. To be sure, good can come from a high-profile repudiation of Trumpism. But good can also come from quiet, everyday acts of compassionate resistance by those who choose to remain. Heaven forbid that the State Department, or any other federal agency, be staffed solely by Trumpists.
2
@Carl Oberdier
"Support it or leave" was a State Department policy not her own philosophy.
This is unfortunate, I say this because I cannot say what I'm actually thinking here within the commentary space of so august a tome as the NY Times.
But by this opinion it is made clear the hemorrhaging of governing talent continues apace, making the overall structure of governance more and more inept and inadequate to the tasks at hand. We as a People are cutting our own throats by allowing the administration to continue apace.
While I get the actions of this writer, and understand completely the angst, her actions amount to societal suicide for all of us. We need her, and others, talents in place if you want a functioning Republic to survive and thrive. Her replacement by lesser folks, if not outright sycophants, does not speak well for America. So we either change this situation, or get changed by it. Our choice.
John~
American Net'Zen
5
Ms. Milton, it was with pride and relief that I read your courageous declaration of the reality of the damage being done to our country by Donald Trump and his servile followers in Congess. You have given the general public an opportunity to see how difficult it is to serve our country; a country now governed by a dysfunctional, cruel, and dishonest administration. In doing so you have opened yourself to criticism, mockery, and the possibility of professional and personal harm. I am so very proud of you, and so filled wiith disgust that we are not seeing such a love of America, and devotion to it, from our elected Republican officials. Thank you, Ms. Milton for your willingness to stand up and be counted as a member of America's basic human decency.
8
America has a life-threatening malignancy. We remove it or we die, and possibly take the world with us in flames. It is really that simple. Stick with Trumpism and no more America, then in another 50 years, no more humans, then, unless life can recover from humanity, no more life, just a dead, spinning rock with artifacts for some creature to find in a billion years. The last human will curse Trump with his last breath, after cursing us with his second-to-last for allowing it to happen.
7
Pick up your toys and go home pouting. My oh my. Life and especially work is not a play date.
1
It’s good she resigned if she didn’t think she could do her job. Trump’s job is to defend and uphold not only the rights but the livelihoods of American citizens. Why on earth would non-citizens desires supersede that of a citizen!?
1
Once we stood for something.
Our system of government is not as strong as we thought.
And now that we have tolerated this level of corruption there is no turning back. This is the new normal. It is a democracy in word only.
6
The bleeding out of experienced officers at any level of the institutions in particular the state department was a concern raised from early on in this administration , I.e. take a look at Ronan Farrow.
So glad this article puts this lasting issue to attention again for a moment.
2
I would hope the legions of Foreign Service Officers who have left their posts on such moral grounds as Ms. Milton could, under new leadership, be enticed to return. Their departure should be an hiatus and not a termination.
Those who leave these jobs may do so because they are unsuited to them or because there are competing personal forces at work. But the cadre of the most skilled, most moral and most ethical among them need to be retained in every job in and out of the State Department lest we devolve into a sea of faceless and sycophantic drones living lives of quiet desperation.
In Cicero's words, "O tempore! O mores!"
5
The Dissent Channel does not apply to Civil Service staff at State. Consider yourself somewhat fortunate.
On one hand, we must work for whichever party is in power, regardless. On the other -- some of these parties despise State as a 'liberal bastion' and want you to be loyal to the Party -- at the expense of the Constitution.
Not an easy decision to have made, surely.
Former State Civil Service whistle blower
2
Sometime in 2016 I learned about Trump University and how its students were cheated out of degrees and money. Therefore, the amount of time it took me to read about it matched the amount of time I needed to ardently oppose Trump. Why were you so slow, Ms. Milton?
3
It is tragic to me that so many have decided to resign leaving the State Dept and possibly being replaced with persons whose positions more closely align with Trump.
I am not as worried about Trump as I am about the many who condone, support, even applaud him.
2
I am also a former Consular Officer, and a very cynical man. First, I note that Ms. Milton was in the Dept for 10 years, which is the amount of time (depending on age) one needs under the Foreign Service Retirement Plan for certain benefits to vest. Donald Trump has been reprehensible for two years now. Hmmm... But let me be also charitable: her discomfort with TRUMP needn’t be the only reason she retired; perhaps it is the main reason. Nuance is hard to convey in short news columns.
I left the Department a month before the election. I’d like to be able to say that I did it on principle, seeing the writing on the wall. I miss it, Trump notwithstanding. Once, after I told a Consular story to a Bogota taxi driver about finding a way to send two young boys to America for surgery, he turned to me at a traffic light and said gravely, “Senor, today, you were the hand of god.” I did not get tenure or a promotion for being the hand of god, surely, but every FSO, and every other person working for a boss they don’t respect or an institution they suspect is corrupt, has the opportunity to inject some compassion and humanity into the system, to subvert corrupt policies from the inside with humanity, and to even be the hand of god.
So to my former colleagues, and all the other public servants in government, I say, hang in there.
14
I applaud your patriotism, Bethany. I wish more domestic residents of this great country who identify themselves as Republicans had it in themselves to be as patriotic as you are.
I wish you and your family all the best. Welcome home!
Be well!
6
For every foreign service officer with a conscience like Ms. Milton's, the current US Department of State probably has dozens that never make eye contact with a visa applicant, preferring to stare into a computer, and to generate the fee income their embassies need to function after the draconian budget cuts that came with the Trump administration. For my now wife and daughter, who have yet to set foot in the USA, the 2017 experience was humiliating. The US embassy in Bangkok did generate $320 from the two or three minutes of the visa interview, so one might assume the interviewer did the job he was assigned to do. If each staffer averages five minutes per interview in an eight hour day, he generates more than $15,000 per day in fee income. Ms. Milton should have stayed. A bit of compassion costs the embassy nothing, and pays a dividend of goodwill in the long run even if the visa application must be rejected for unexplained reasons.
2
Ms. Milton,
With some considerable time working with and around the State Dept, I will say that State does an essential and in many ways, commendable job. However... State often suffers from a group-think, echo chamber, somewhat arid mindset regarding its role in the world. Your use of the word "gruesome" to describe supposed "targeting" of people who attempt to immigrate illegally is a minor but telling example. "Gruesome" is what FARC butchers do to police and military captives, not what the Trump administration does in its attempt to control illegal border crossings. As in so many "high moral ground" arguments today on Trump admin policies, the effort is made to paint your foe as cruel, small-minded, suffering from bigotry, "gruesome" etc. when an honest effort to fix what is clearly wrong with our immigration system is clearly not a high priority for the old heads in State. Empires are built in all agencies, and State is no exception. Thank you for what good things you did during your career, but you were right to leave.
6
When Donald Trump declared he wanted to "drain the swamp," I guess he had in mind people like Ms. Milton: competent professionals who could both face hard realities yet continue to represent the ideals of America.
27
I am in the minority here. No matter how anguished her soul, I don’t support her resignation. You can’t get credit for a life of principles and also relinquish those principles. She has every right to resign, that’s not it. But what sacrifices has she really made? Seeing the look of sadness in a suffering persons eyes? Was that too much for her? Maybe so. But that’s not the same as suffering. She has every right to point out the human toll that Trump’s policies have caused. In the wake of her resignation who is left to replace her?
I am an immigrant. My single mother and I were illegal immigrants in the 60’s and feared for the day when we might be separated as a family. Eventually I became a citizen and have become a doctor and fathered a fine family that contributes to all that is great about America.
I never would have made it if there hadn’t been immigration officials willing to stick it out. So make your choices, and deserve credit for pointing out bad policy, but don’t expect credit from me for not being able to suffer through another day at the office. Even one good day out of 100 could have saved an entire generation of a family tree.
It sounds harsh but I’ve often been told during my career that this is the difference between doctors and administrators. The buck always stops with us.
We never have the option of turning away because of our personal ‘principles’ when those who suffer are looking in our eyes.
I thank you for your service. But pray for those left.
19
@Intrepid
She resigned out of principle. She is not seeking credit for her decision. She now has to four her life and family through the disruption of finding another job. Yet, she is not seeking pity. I wonder how you might feel if your hospital administration made a policy stopping you from treating any patient of a particular ethnicity or religious background. Maybe you will continue to work so you can continue to help those you are allowed to treat. Another physician might feel, on principle, unable to keep working in that situation. The only way bad policies are ever changed is when enough people take a stand against those policies, out of principle. Your post suggests that we should let the ends justify the means. I think that is dangerous.
38
This administration will cheer at your departure and brag about their gutting of our government institutions. It is part of their strategy for dismantling our democracy--and that IS their strategy.
35
I hope that several of the major media news programs have the wisdom bring Ms. Milton on as a guest. Her voice needs to be heard as well as read in print.
48
'President Trump's willful ignorance when it comes to matters of state began when his new administration failed to attend transition meetings organized by the State Department. His failure to make appointments to key positions further damaged morale. Let's hope enough skilled and experienced employees manage to stay on until relief is in sight, and that those that quit join Bethany to make sure the Trump foreign policy disaster comes to an early end.
38
Thank you for your courage, transparency, and integrity. No one understands immigration better than someone working on the ground like you. I wish the likes of Trump could learn how to serve his country from someone like you.
42
@Andrena Woodhams. Since he knows everything, why would he?
Please let me add my thanks! You are brave to tell your story. I am an American born citizen and sympathetic to those who come to American looking for a better life as many of my forbears did. More power to you in your endeavours to "help make America great again" in the next election!
28
Thank you for your service to our country. And, thank you even more for your integrity and courage to do the right thing. Welcome home.
45
Thank you for sharing these truths - the truths that don't make headlines, yes not even in the NYT my go-to-news-venue of choice. Thank you for your honesty, courage and continuing faith in a system that has lost its foundation. You and your peers need to recognize that the US Constitution and its Amendments are partially to blame for the breakdown that has been festering behind the facade of "...liberty and justice for all".
15
Thank you for your service. I only hope that 14yr old will be able to try again in 2021.
37
Thank you for your service and for speaking up, Bethany Milton.
51
I beg your pardon madam, but you were effective in propagating legal immigration. You protected the borders, our rule of law and provided an organized system to move legal immigrants through a process. I checked the statistics and including HB1 visas, we still process just under 1 million legal immigrants a year into this nation. That has not changed under this administration. What other country in this world can make this claim.
10
Canada, Germany, among others, and at a higher per capita rate too
18
@Unhappy JD
What has changed drastically under this administration is the demonization, vilification, and blatant racism aimed at many candidates for citizenship. Regardless of their acceptability.
To condone that is to encourage more, worse abuse.
Today's 'performance' at the G7 meeting illustrates how low the Trump administration is capable of sinking.
Another fifteen months; I fear we will suffer record levels of desperation.
4
@Unhappy JD Can you give a reference for those statistics?
1
The first order of business for a Democratic President will be to fire every government employee hired under Trump. The damage being done to our government, behind the very public chaos he foments, is incalculable.
72
@JKile. I agree! I dream that someone can also find a legal means to remove the clown show judges Trump, the “Religious” Right, and McConnell have rammed through. Even if every Trump enabler is removed from government office, those judges await their chances to spread termite-like damage that will cripple the country for decades.
4
@JKile I assume you mean to recommend firing Trump's political appointees. Most new govt hires entered govt service the normal way, through a competitive system that doesn't take political views into consideration.
3
So proud of you to stand up to your convictions. My son will soon join ROTC in college, serve a stint in the military, and then join one of the alphabet Agencies. I hope he will follow in your footsteps to serve the greater good and not the person.
35
@Lawrence Louie
As a veteran I can assure you that your son will be required to follow the person and not the greater good during his stint in the military. If he doesn't he could be shot or at the least imprisoned.
When someone working in the foreign service perceives wrongful actions they can resign, but as a member of our military you do not have that luxury. At this troubled time in our country's history I don't believe that your son's future will unfold as you envision.
4
While I sympathize with how difficult it must have been to serve and then to leave a job a career you clearly love, all I can think of is "Spit! Another smart person leaves the room. Another intelligent, thoughtful, careful, dedicated public servant is pushed to the limit and ditches." Not that I blame you, indeed I am grateful for the time you stuck it out. That we were fortunate to have your expertise and skill out in Rwanda speaking as a true American is reason to celebrate. Thank you for your service.
Now, don't go too far, and tell your colleagues the same thing. We'll need all you smart, serious people to come back and help us rebuild our reputation when the next/ new President is in office. If it is still possible.
60
Ms. Milton, I am both in awe and sad for the professional sacrifice you had to make to uphold your noble principles. You chose job loss but U.S. diplomacy lost more than you did. I hope that when a sane Administration replaces one of the most barbaric ones in American history, you will be among those at the top of the list for re-hiring. I wish you good luck. America can be proud of one its daughters.
40
Don’t give up. Please continue on the path of using your powers for good. We will need everyone of you to pick up the pieces when, if, we can eradicate this nightmare.
27
Quitting will not help anyone but yourself. It is fine to quit something you don’t like, but as with anything most problems at work go away with time.
3
@Jim This is not a matter of a work problem. This is a question of no longer being able to carry out the duties assigned to the job. As Ms. Milton points out, your duty, aside from knowing the procedures and forms necessary to do your daily tasks, is to support the policies of the administration, particularly those in your area of government. (You have no particular reason to talk about a president's farm policies very much, for example, if you are processing visa applications in Kigali.) If you can no longer do your duty and support the policies of the administration when asked questions about them, you have become unable to do your job. If you are unable to do your job for whatever reason, you should resign, because if you start to do the job incorrectly, you'll be fired eventually anyway. Now, this situation might change on January 21, 2021, but it just as well might not. What if it lasts until January 21, 2025? Or 2029? Or 2033? Or until there's a revolution, another civil war or a splitting up of the nation into several independent states? How long is she supposed to stick it out and who gets to decide that? Certainly not Jim in NC for Bethany in Kigali, unless Jim in NC is ready to allow Bethany to give him advice about his job. Even if this were a problem at work, anyone think that the Harvey Weinstein "problem at work" would have gone away on its own? Why would anyone assume this one will?
12
@Jim and at times of great crisis - it takes courage to leave. To remain is become complicit in an immoral act. You can't be with it and not off it. Congratulations!
1
@Jim I think that the moral of the story is that, for decent people, it stops being just a ‘problem at work’!
2
Thank you for YOUR service, Mrs. Milton.
18
I'm as concerned about ridding the government agencies of the totally incompetent people who have been hired by this administration when it ends as I am about the qualified people leaving now.
18
Thank you for your service, your integrity and your courage to depart — and sound this alarm. I urge you and every sane American citizen to join together and work hard to rid our country of this scourge of an administration— before our democracy is in ruins.
19
De-constructing the administrative state is their point. They do not care who leaves.
The larger question is when this awful administration finally departs will we be able to swiftly re-build what was destroyed?
Breaking things takes no talent...building does. trump is not a builder in any sense of that word. (a name licensor, yes)
27
Four sates, PA, MI, WI and OH which helped elect 45th with FL holding 29 Electoral College votes will flip and 45th will be gone by mid-night of November 3, 2020.
12
@Trevor Diaz
So hope you are right...fear you are not./
@Trevor Diaz From your lips to God’s ears!
Sadly, how much more can citizens take of this administration? The loss of knowledge wealth from those who have resigned because they could not ethically enforce WH dictates designed to cruelly hurt the general populace in a misguided attempt to force political change (think Venezuela; Cuba; Iran) to watching Senator "Moscow Mitch" refuse to openly debate House legislative proposals in the fear of compromise or having to coherently explain why Republicans do not support a bill. Enough ! 2020 is coming ! (Psst ... so is an economic slow down and further shredding of the social safety net for us 99%ers !)
11
You are not alone. Many of us have renounced privileged positions and resigned from responsibilities that demanded obedience to racist and fascist beliefs, especially regarding immigrants and migrants into the US. Have faith that there will be enough of us to make a difference. It is a non-violent war on bigots and patriarchs that hopefully will morph into a revival of what being an American truly is -- not a greedy, bottomless stomach for consumption that bloats into laziness, ignorance, and a sense of unearned privilege.
18
Thank you for your service and your integrity.
7
What Trump has done to the Foreign Service is enough for him to be impeached and convicted.
21
Forget the content. You’re an excellent writer!
4
God bless you Bethany. One of you, with your generosity, decency, and morality, counterbalances the hordes of uncaring, incompetent, and untrained amateurs who are despoiling one of the great institutions of American government.
4
When Reagan came into office and the Navy brass felt secure to "de-Zumwalt" the Navy it was time for me to go. What had been years of service as a nuclear engineer was over. I commend the writer for seeing a situation that will take years to recover from.
18
Bravo, Ms. Milton!
Thank you for your service, and thanks for coming back to work on the upcoming election.
We need your intellect, experience and compassion and will value your contribution.
My fellow American, Welcome Home!
39
Thank you, Ms Milton, for your years of dedicated service, and even more, your honesty in describing the dilemma facing a career civil servant in an administration that despises servants, whatever the nature of their work.
24
"What is there left to defend to foreign audiences, other than a promise that we’re a democracy and that there are future elections to come?"
That statement is breathtaking- and heartbreaking.
What Ms Milton is really saying: "Friends and Countrymen- we have a piece of paper saying we're a democracy- but you'll have to wait until the next election to find out."
38
Like Ms. Milton, I was a career Foreign Service Officer and served primarily as a consular officer at posts overseas. My 20 year career was divided almost equally between Republican and Democratic administrations. I reached the same conclusion as Ms. Milton 2 years ago, and retired from the Foreign Service. The breaking point for me came just shortly after the Trump administration took office, when the Muslim travel ban was announced. While it was hard to leave my colleagues and an institution that I was proud to be a part of, I knew I could not in good conscience carry out the directions of an administration that displayed such low regard for American principles and values. The events of the past two years confirmed for me that I made the right decision. Although it does not get a lot of attention, the hollowing out that has occurred in the State Department and other federal agencies during the Trump years has had a profound impact that will continue to be felt long after he has left office.
92
Bravo, and thank you for preserving the integrity that is a true American value.
20
I applaud your willingness to put your money where your mouth is. I've been fortunate that I haven't been put in situations where I would have to act against my principles, so have managed to stay in the foreign service in good conscience. Which is good, because I really can't afford to quit. But I hold on, hoping that we will have better - or simply normal - leadership again soon.
25
Now, if only we had a handful of politicians who had a modicum of the integrity, courage and ethics that Ms. Bethany has, what a difference it might make. But, alas, I don’t think they exist.
58
Wow! It's hard to remember a more honorable admission than this. This is a patriot.
109
I did the same thing and resigned as a first-term Foreign Service Officer in the Reagan administration for similar reasons. It has to be much more difficult to be an FSO today under trump. One has to be true to one's own soul.
81
Thanks so much for these vital insights, Bethany Milton. There are other efforts on the part of the State Dept that so far are still apparently flying under the radar of the political appointees of the present administration. For example, the American Spaces abroad, often manned by Fulbright ETA Fellows, which give support to some of the most talented and ambitious of youthful local populations abroad (including LGBTQ+ populations). Or should I not have mentioned such soft power efforts to attract the best and the brightest to traditional American human rights values, for fear that the political appointees will catch on and try to put a stop to them?
20
Integrity, honestly, service and fidelity to your mission is the way I see it. Thank you for your efforts, you seem like a wonderful person. The future is bright for a person with ethics and morality, even the demist light shine clearly in this situation. Speak truth to power. Easily said but retaliation is always a consideration. You need to be commended for your sincerity and honesty. Best regards.
34
Ethics are desirable, but morality is often far too personal and exclusive of others.
3
@Glenn Thomas Morality is treating others the way you want to be treated. By definition, therefore, it cannot be "too personal and exclusive of others."
3
Thank you. Thank you for your service, for your ethics, for your decency and humanity and compassion. You give me hope that this nightmare will one day be over and the hard, long work of repair can finally begin.
83
It's nice to see folks act with integrity, especially while the person to whom they report refuses to do the same. The worst part about this tale is that when good people leave, their replacement is likely to be not nearly as good and very likely to be more in lock step with the administrations shortsighted out of focus vision. It will be those folks who present the unmade up and unprepared face of America abroad for all to see.
34
@David -- and too often not replaced! Frightening.
1
I urge all decent Americans working for the Federal Government to stay in your jobs as long as you can bear it.
Part of the Alt-Right attack on the "administrative state," is to get experienced and principled government employees to resign so that the government is drained of talent, and so they can be replaced by inexperienced and unprincipled tools of global billionaires.
There was a comment in another article that said, once Trump is gone, than his executive orders can be overturned and everything can go quickly back to normal. However, that ignores that fact that the U.S government is experiencing serious brain drain.
The "administrative state" is the sum of all of the laws passed by previous Congresses and signed by previous presidents. Government agencies (except for the Post Office*), are created by law under the Constitution. The people that work in them are not just extra people standing around trying to make life hard for Americans, but have actual jobs that our democracy decided we needed done.
The Alt-Right's attack on the 'Administrative state," is an attack on our Constitutional Republic, like all of their other attacks on our Republic, which they keep saying is their "enemy."
Every time the Right says something, it is imperative to parse behind the apparent emotional value, and think about the definitions of the words.
*The United State Postal Service is in the Constitution, but the Right is trying to kill its brand and sell it for parts. Democrats?
78
Thank you. For your service and your honesty. And your willingness to enter the public arena so you can be vilified and harassed by those who would welcome the policies which so effectively kept out those who were deemed unworthy of citizenship 100 years ago. The Johnson Reed Act of 1924 is being reborn in the actions of Steven Miller etc. Godspeed.
69
'“The day you can no longer publicly support your administration’s policies is the day you need to resign.”'
So, by extension, that means that anybody who works there as of today approves of: ditching the Iran nuclear and Paris climate aggreements; stomping on international law concerning asylum seekers; and other policy examples.
Presumably, they also agree with the way Mr. Trump treats the United States' allies and international organizations to which we belong. Examples include Mr. Trump's raucous reception at the U.S.; nonappearance at the WWI memorial with the other leaders; allowing his daughter to sit in at the G20; letting his adult children and their spouses crash the queen of England's state dinner; and many more.
16
@Grennan
I think the operative phrase is "publicly support." They may not agree with many of Trump's policies but for complex reasons decide to not publicly dissent.
23
@Grennan
When the president is attacking the constitution, that piece of "training" needs to be reversed.
Only people that agree with Trump should go. Everyone else should stay.
I have a problem with elderly people emigrating to spend time with grandchildren. Who pays for their health care? Do US taxpayers get to foot the bill, or do they have health care insurance that can be transferred to the USA. If not, best that they stay where they are and have the grandchildren visit.
11
@Davidthis is the united states. Health care is not provided,as it is in civilized countries
118
Non-citizens who are legal permanent residents are eligible for Medicare only if the person or their spouse worked in the US and paid Medicare taxes for minimum 40 quarters. Immigrants of any other status are not eligible.
58
@David
Good thing for you our "best health care in the world" health care system isn't very well funded by tax dollars. The less $$ you have, the poorer your care, regardless of where you come from. Other countries do a better job, even taking care of those that aren't "their own", thanks to universal health care.
77
Ms Milton has only added to the confusion. There is no denying that the Trump administration has been illegally focused on religion as a screen for admission to the US, but she goes to far and tries to defend perceived, but non-existing programs.
1) she goes into great detail describing "chain migration" in which one family member is admitted to the US and and endless chain of family members feels morally entitled to come as well. They system is not designed to work that way.
2) She then describes how people who have suffered crimes or violence are denied refugee status. That did not change under Trump. We don't offer asylum for non-government violence. We only offer asylum for those who are persecuted by their government.
You can have your own opinion, but you can't have your own facts.
7
@John She stated nothing of the sort concerning your point number 2.
She mentions she oversaw visa applications for many subjected to the horror of war and rape, to name a couple, but, no denying of a visa.
63
@John
1. She does not go "into great detail describing chain migration." In total she devotes just 2 sentences to her description of families.
2. Yes, the US policy on asylum did change under Trump. A ruling by the DoJ on June 11, 2018 overruled a 2014 BIA decision granting asylum to survivors of domestic abuse.
99
Chain migration does not work the way you think it does. I know someone who came here 30 years ago and is a citizen. It took her 15 years to bring her sister, brother-in-law, and nephew here legally. Family members go on a waiting list. It can years to get to the top. My friend’s family spent $6000.00 on the required physicals.
9
i could hardly care less what career bureaucrats have to say. i find them, so often, to be utterly unhelpful, ossified and prone to groupthink. their success is 50-50- no better than a coin toss. the number of recent failures is too long to count.
good riddance.
6
@Ari Weitzner The same can be said of private sector executives. And if you want a bureaucratic organization to compare, try any Fortune 500 company.
98
@Ari Weitzner Having worked in the private sector most of my life, I can safely say there is no shortage of bureaucrats there either. And now having worked for the government, I see most of the bureaucracy is centered on accountability and protecting itself from liability. So until taxpayers or elected officials stop demanding multiple approvals and documentation for a $7 parking charge, or constantly suing the government for things they could never get away with in the private sector, understand you are part of the problem.
60
@Ari Weitzner Please, enlighten us about those recent failures that have been caused by the Foreign Service, those consular officers that represent the United States in other countries.
Please, explain how the government would run without the institutional knowledge a career federal employee possesses and uses on a daily basis.
And lastly, please explain your experience in the ossified, unhelpful and prone to groupthink in the federal workplace, in particular, the State Department.
I am a retired federal employee, Department of the Army civilian. Those many years I performed many duties as directed by the Army through my supervisors. There was no "groupthink" with a "50-50" success rate. It was follow policy and procedures.
And like Ms. Milton, there were times when administration desires conflicted with law-Reagan was a prime example due to Iran/Contra.
Yet, Ms. Milton stayed as long as she could carrying out her duties that we ask, as taxpayers, do do.
Now, you wish her good riddance. Are you one of the "go back" crowd with the bigotry that goes hand in glove with the chant?
163
Thank you for your service Ms. Milton. I hope that with your help and that of so many others we can return to civility and normality after this administration is gone. We are a nation of immigrants and as an immigrant myself I hope that the erroneous paths this administration has taken will be gone into oblivion and forgotten by the people so that we can go on with our lives and put this country back on its feet.
37
Ms. Milton: In simpler terms, you put concerns for foerigners over those of American Citizens, who simply want to control
our own country's destiny, just like all countries have a right to do.
Most countries have always controlled immigration to
benefit their citizens, such as Japan or Mexico, and nobody here in the US objects.
Now we are doing the same.
8
@Doug McDonald Obviously, you haven't got a clue as to what the US Foreign Services does. It's about concern for humanity. Not only immigration but responsible contact(it's called "diplomacy") in whichever country you are assigned to. The fact that you created a "political" moment about this thoughtful and heartfelt essay says a great deal about, IMO, how, unAmerican you truly are.
97
@Doug McDonald Actually what she's doing is putting humanity's value over the petty whims of a xenophobic nation.
91
@Doug McDonald America needs migrants. Our birth rate is too low. Rejecting people based on their skin color or religious beliefs is discriminatory and there’s no proof it helps this country. The crime rate among migrants is lower that that of natural born citizens. No one from any of the barred Muslim countries has ever committed an act of terrorism here. Trump is a racist, plain and simple. I’ll be voting blue no matter who and so will my friends. We’re tired of the chaos and racist hatred caused by Trump.
89
Instead of blaming Trump, we should be blaming all our elected officials in Washington that have yet to come up with a realistic immigration policy. I don't recall hearing of any policy proposals from either side of the aisle.
I met a lady in San Francisco last year that worked for the immigration service. After a couple drinks, she went off about some Chinese woman that was granted citizenship (or maybe just a green card), who then used her position to bring in 154 of her closest relatives.
Ms. Milton obviously doesn't belong in the government bureaucracy, that bureaucracy is supposed to represent all America, not just her preferred political party. Time for the safe room!
9
@DJOHN I believe there have been several bi-partisan attempts that have been blocked from even coming to a vote by a Republican in charge of either the House or the Senate. Policy proposals and bills a plenty, the will to pass them, not so much. The story of some Chinese women sound like just that, a STORY.
Our State Department, and indeed all our foreign relationships are currently in disarray due to the chaos of Trump. The mess he has made of this bureaucracy no longer represents any Americans.
144
@DJOHN For many years, legislation has been put forth on immigration and the Senate has stopped everything dead in its tracks. Trump has taken immigration status to a horrible new level. In Boston, today's news reported that medical visas for severely ill children at Boston hospitals are going to be revoked and the kids and their families will have 30 days once it's done to get out of the country with their seriously ill children. And with regard to "chain migration" implied above, our First Lady got here on an "Einstein Visa", she had her "anchor baby", and then her parents chain-migrated to this country. We are a country of immigrants. If our system is broken and there is plenty of blame to go around.
117
@DJOHN
I think you were an eager listener to hearsay, not facts.
I also think that Ms. Milton, like many of her colleagues who left quietly, left because of this particular administration's policy toward both immigrants and the deliberate gutting of the State Dept. This wasn't the case during either of the Bush administrations or the Reagan administration. Trump is in a category that transcends party.
61
I hate to rain on this parade, but its time more foreign service officers left the government. The foreign service has been nothing but a legacy of failure for several decades. From China, North Korea, Russia, the middle east, and the "Arab Spring" to the illegal immigration crisis at our southern border, about the only positive thing we can say, is that at least we didn't get into a shooting war (or at least not too many of them). After years of failure, can you blame Mr. Trump for trying a different approach? I don't hold much optimism for his approach, but the Obama/Clinton/Albright/Bush approach wasn't working either. Being "diplomatic" about problems, which mainly meant ignoring them, isn't the same as solving them. I cite North Korea and the Clinton/Albright nuclear deal as an example of this. It is clear that none of the major international problems facing Mr. Trump were of his own making. I appreciate the fact that he is taking a different approach. The fact that Ms. Milton cannot see how badly past policies have failed is evidence that she is unfit to serve in the foreign service. Furthermore, neither Mr. Trump nor other leaders have been targeting legal immigrants, in "gruesome ways" or any other. If one cannot tell the difference between legal and illegal immigration, one is also unfit for foreign service work. It is time that she and others like her step aside for those who might at least attempt something that might actually work.
9
@chip You're totally right. There's no way a trained, seasoned diplomat would know as much about the Foreign Service as Chip from New York. Certainly given that his breadth of knowledge extends to Consular Affairs, where Ms. Milton worked, I was a little surprised that he might be confused when she did not solve the North Korean nuclear crisis in her 11 years managing the visa process. Given that Chip has done just so much to advance all of these issues from his apartment in Queens, we should certainly celebrate his well reasoned advice.
456
Yet another deflection from the problem which Ms. Milton so concisely makes clear. It’s also apparent that the day to day ground work that she took part in has been effective for so many individuals fleeing circumstances of life and death. Though it may still be a measure of the Foreign Service’s failure” to you, I’m sure many people disagree and measure success and effectiveness not by media headlines but by saved lives and the promotion of what our democracy and ideals are suppose to reflect and implement. This Administration is the failure that you seem to overlook and defend. How about start there and stop looking at this through the narrow lense of political ideology.
125
@chip
Success is relative. I consider it a success that previous administrations - Republican and Democrat, have kept the world from being annihilated by the 15,000 or so nuclear warheads in the world, equivalent to about 6,600 megatons of TNT. I see this beginning to unravel with the "different approach" that you find so refreshing.
108
I worked for the department of state for more than 40 years before retiring recently. I didn’t agree with all the policies of the Nixon administration, or of the Carter administration, or of the Clinton or Bush administrations. But I felt like I had an important job to do, and so I stayed. Never mind grown-up responsibilities like paying for a mortgage, and feeding and clothing my family.
I would not be surprised if the author of this column did not get a promotion, or was not selected for the onward assignment of her choice. That is often the reason that people resign from the foreign service, and then go on to proclaim a high minded moral objection about the policies of the administration under which they most recently served.
I’ve known dozens of such people over the years, and many of them conveniently retired when the Trump administration came into office.
9
@David H Would you say that the policies of the Trump administration, and the way they are being implemented, are just equivalent to those other administrations? We are in much deeper waters now, and most of the country realizes that. Don't project.
48
@David H
And by your logic, "conveniently retired when the Clinton, Bush, Obama administration came into office" would also be true.
I believe that everyone has a moral breaking point, Otherwise, we are all mindless, valueless droids. And that doesn't sound like the dedicated employees of the State Department.
22
For much of the time I read your piece, I was so sad. But darlin' that last paragraph gave me great hope! Thank you for coming home with a vow in your heart and mind to help our country gain ethical leadership that will serve us all.
33
This is why we have to drain the swamp.
You work for us. You get one vote, same as me. No more, no less.
Drain the swamp
4
Actually, some people do get a bigger vote than others. That's why Hillary isn't President, despite getting 3 million more votes than her opponent.
45
Jim’s right. My vote here in California is worth one third of someone’s vote in Wyoming. I guess I’m considered 1/3 a person. Huh. I suppose I should be paying 2/3 less in federal taxes.
29
@Tim ..drain the swamp? In principle I agree. Unfortunately the swamp is centered in the White House.
6
What did you expect? Now you're coming out?
At least he has not appointed Amy Wax to work along side of Stephen Miller. She WILL need a new job when Penn Law school fires her after students refuse to attend her classes:
https://www.law.com/2019/07/19/amy-wax-in-the-crosshairs-of-penn-law-students-again-after-immigration-comments/?slreturn=20190726160944
4
Well, I may have skimmed excerpts of "The Ugly
American,” though without prompting do not
recall.
I do not like potus, though many, many people
certainly seem to, because if nothing else opinion
polls are currently in the low to mid 40’s,
So DJT is depending on the economy, while in
the past few days he seems nuttier than usual.
So can/could the myriad damaging he is overall
making ever be undone?
My take is ... of course I do not know.
It may be libel to honestly post that he risks/
gambles, wins or loses, but this showdown
is not softball, a kind of reality game which results
in paradise or hades for me, ye etal.
He wants praise and re-election and if he wins
the trade war, then compliment our dear leader.
1
Now if only the GOP cowards in the Senate and House could grow spines.
They will go down in history as the American traitors whose spinelessness and selfishness caused such senseless destruction to our federal government operations and institutions.
24
This election can't come fast enough!
make it Putin-Proof PLEASE
10
Welcome home
10
What "Trump State Department?"
3
With Trump as our dear leader we cannot even begin to explain ourselves to foreigners. They either despise us already or laugh at our pretenses.
And our real explanation would have to include a lot of embarrassing facts: 1) we have a very large population of white trash. 2) we have a very large population even from the middle and upper classes who know virtually nothing correct about our history or workings of our political system. 3) we have many tendencies towards what was decades ago called fascism. 4) we are not really a democracy but an oligarchy of wealth and status and ill equipped to pretend we care about democracy elsewhere.
21
Thank you, Ms. Milton, for sticking to your--and American--values in the face of the onslaught of idiocy, incompetence, mismanagement, and narcissism of this "president."
17
Thank you for your understated and dignified contribution to the story of the unravelling of the State Department. It must have been very difficult to write, but it is essential that there be a public record of what this idiot of a president and his hangers-on are doing to this country. Best wishes for your future endeavours.
20
Bravo!
11
In Trump’s world... you are disloyal and part of the massive “swamp”, “deep state” & conspiracy cult.
Meanwhile, in a parallel and saner universe... you are a patriot, who served her country, and I thank you for your service.
Take a rest, recharge your battery... and get back in the fight to save our democracy.
Your voice does matter.
24
Ms. Milton, you have written an articulate and thoughtful piece regarding your decision to exit this heinous administration. It is unfortunate that the president of the United States can't think or write as well. You will be missed.
33
thank you Ms Milton - you've served in a true American spirit and with honor. We need to return to the welcoming approach towards immigrants seeking a better life and away from the bigotry, fear and hate of this administration and the GOP.
28
Thank you so much for your dedication and hard work. You will be hard to replace.
27
Well said Ms. Milton. I commend you for both serving while staying even if the policies weren't aligned with yours, and then recognizing when you could no longer do so and taking decisive steps to bring about a change of leadership.
29
Ms. Milton reflects the experiences of those in other branches of government as well.
My son, a highly educated financial expert (and a conservative Republican), left Treasury after five years following the installation of a Trump loyalist who oversaw domestic banking policy but had no credentials whatsoever in banking or finance. His first question to my son was, “ How do banks make their money?” My son tired of covering for this incompetent, and left public service, which was his passion.
Millions of Trump supporters have no idea of the damage this man is doing to our nation and the government that we entrust to him. What is the matter with these people that they are so blinded to his hateful and destructive ways?
Thank you, Ms. Milton, for being among the few brave souls who have spoken up. More need to do so.
131
@RHD
thank you for your note- I wish this could headline news- smart ,educated and same experience as Ms Milton.
7
@RHD Totally agree. Disappointing to see so little reaction to such a fundamental topic.
The Foreign Service is unfortunately not the only department, service, agency or bureau where conscientious employees are leaving.
Seeing hostile workplace and public policies, one no longer devoted to carrying out the best work that the United States can do for our citizens, for citizens and refugees from around the globe, as well as for our planetary environment, I am hearing of many senior, junior and new employees, dedicated to public service, leave as soon as they can.
This gutting of our public servants will be disastrous in the coming years, as the experience and knowledge of these employees is replaced by an increasingly pliant group of employees willing to do what this uninformed, malicious, anti-science and anti-humanitarian emperor wants them to do.
48
All these happenings will make Putin real happy, because he hit the jackpot by placing an inexpensive bet on Donald. He probably knew that the ROI will be huge, since Trump organization got hooked to Russian oligarchs’ money. With this objective, they might have been willing to pay exorbitant prices for Trump properties. Trump Jr. himself acknowledged that they have plenty of Russian money coming in.
16
The saddest comments here are the ones who blame the likes of this writer and her fellow former State Department employees for the turmoil in our world that has been created by Donald Trump, or the ones who decry her as a liberal for not supporting the Donald, as if her explanation for leaving had anything to do with a liberal vs. conservative world viewpoint. His behavior is a complete blind spot for them, and they only hear the lack of support for DJT, which they interpret as a personal attack on not just DJT, but on themselves and their “side”.
41
They are cult members, not ordinary supporters.
2
I do not think our president could respond to this in a way that matches Ms. Milton's clarity and feeling if given a pad of paper and an afternoon alone in a room. We deserve better.
40
Thank you for your service. The worst nightmare in this ongoing crisis is that all of Trump’s Supporters consider everything you’ve eloquently written as Fake News. And there isn’t any way on God’s Green Earth to convince them otherwise.
44
I hope people like you Ms. Milton who are not yet of retirement age will consider returning to the Foreign Service, and will be welcomed back, once we have a new president and administration that represents the true values of our country.
Your talents and expertise, as well as many of those who joined you in the exodus from the reality TV farce, will be sorely needed as America in 2020 looks to repair the damage done to the fabric of our nation since 2016.
Finally, thank you for your courage and conviction in standing up to what you aptly called the "bigotry, fear and small-minded chauvinism." This is something the Republican members of our Congress have yet to find the spine to do.
41
Thanks for your service and also for writing this informative essay.
24
Powerful & courageous, but so sad for our country.
18
As a permanent residence living and working in the United States. I know and understand how cumbersome a job Americas foreign service officers do. Please believe this, the reputation of the United States right now in the international community is in the gutter.
27
Bravo, Bethany Milton. Believe that millions of us stand with you!
22
Here's the thing: Trump is a direct descendant of 40 years of Republican claims that big government is bad government, and the best government is small and feeble and destroyed.
Trump is a destroyer of institutions, precedents and norms. He is a forest fire rampaging through an admittedly overgrown and heavily wooded bureaucratic landscape. He ran on these promises of unorthodox, radical change, and he is delivering.
It's much harder, of course, to build than to destroy. But that is not Trump's job - nor will it ever be. The task of rebuilding our government and institutions and traditions of democracy from these ashes will be left to his successors.
30
People don’t realize that trump is destroying the rank and file of many government agencies that cannot in good faith be involved with a corrupt administration. These people do all the grunt work behind the scenes and replacing them will take great effort when of if sanity returns to the government.
21
How depressing that honorable people, who have devoted much of their working lives in service to this country, are leaving - publicly and privately. I appreciate your years of work, Ms. Milton, and am sure you comported yourself honorably and with dignity.
Who on earth are the people who are signing on NOW? How could any moral, serious, right-thinking person align their fate with Trump’s at this particular moment in his presidency? What kind of person would support a man such as Trump? I cannot imagine anyone other than an immigrant-hating, right-wing zealot thinking that being part of the Trump regime could be a feather in their cap or make a good impression on their resume. At this point, it seems to me that not only are we losing fine and dedicated career public servants, we have to be scraping the bottom of the barrel in hiring anyone new.
Trump has dragged us so far down and we haven’t even begun to touch bottom. If allowed, he will take us even lower. Hard to imagine, but oh so true.
27
Trump is emasculating all agencies. It is his way of consolidating all power to himself. Consider some of the people he has placed in cabinet positions-forget the ones who have quite or indicted. Most of them are totally unfit for their jobs.
Trump will be gone and hopefully we will be able to return to normal over a period of years.
I can't wait for day when the name Trump will appear in the NYTimes in a place other than the 1st page.
20
The saga of Bethany Milton may provoke some of us to wonder why she took so long to realize that Donald Trump wants no immigration by non-Christians and certainly none by Muslims and absolutely none by people of color.
We might wonder what would have happened if dedicated mid-level members of the Foreign Service had resigned by the thousands in protest a couple years ago and publicly announced their reasons.
Putting aside how easy it is for outsiders to suggest that good people should throw away their careers on principle, it is important to think about the help Bethany Milton and her like-minded colleagues provided to families from disfavored groups who desperately needed visas to the United States.
Those Foreign Service officers may already have concluded, quite correctly, that President Trump is a nasty bigot with no limit to his cruelty, but there were distressed people in immediate need. And, there always was some hope that on Capitol Hill some men and women existed, who would do something to curb the worst impulses of the xenophobic leader.
Our national shame over Donald Trump and his silent Republican supporters in the Senate and House on the immigration issue, is matched by our admiration for Bethany Milton and her professional public servants in the Foreign Service.
21
I hate to think of how empty Washington, DC, will be if trump defies all odds and wins another term. Dear God. . . America will finally be thoroughly destroyed by our own elected leaders.
21
Ms. Milton, you made my day.
I'm the daughter of a Foreign Service officer who was a refugee from Nazi Austria and whose defense of human rights in Seoul, Korea during Pak Chung Hee's dictatorship earned him the comment in his performance review that he was "the conscience of the embassy."
Every time I see a Foreign Service officer stand up and speak out for decency and democracy, I feel my late father's soul sing out.
37
Your moving essay illustrates an administration whose policies are more akin to a totalitarian and fascistic state with values of extreme nationalism, racism, and the interests of the corporate state and moneyed elite.
I congratulate yourself on sacrificing your career to tell the truth about this reactionary regime.
It is America’s loss to experience the departure of so many dedicated and competent foreign service diplomats. It is truly shameful and harmful to the execution of a foreign policy that reflects the best ideals of our democracy.
15
Please run for Congress, Ms. Milton. I will support you!
Mr. Trump has never read the constitution, knows nothing about American history or foreign affairs or how to govern , does not dare to care to fathom the principles of a democracy. And the fact that 40% of Americans still support his continued shams and perpetrations and blatantly racism and lying without shame, makes me fear for all of what will happen next if he is re-elected.
23
This story scratched an itch I've had ever since Trump was elected.
As a Foreign Service candidate myself (I never made it past the oral exams), I've been wondering how our country's diplomats have fared under the most undiplomatic administration in history. Now I know.
Thank you for your service, Bethany Milton. May your old job be waiting for you once we are able to bleach the stain that Trump and his supporters have left on our nation's flag.
18
It will be great, if Bethany Milton would be interested in serving US again. I am afraid that Trump admin will fill all these positions by his loyal Toadies, just like the SCOTUS and his cabinet. That will have long term consequences.
1
The chosen one has spoken. Either get in line or get out. He is a stable genius and you are not worthy to question his edicts. Some people say he is a gift to our America. Sad, so very sad.
6
Bethany, Thank you for your service.
12
This brain drain is frightening. I hope the many talented, principled professionals who have left this criminal regime return to serve their country under President Elizabeth Warren.
16
I admire her integrity. But I have a question. Violence towards women and hats is worldwide and institutionalized in some countries. Can the US really be home to these 1 or two billıons
@Ram13....Which completely misses the point that Trump is a vulgar bigoted narcissist. He is totally unqualified. He is a blight on the country. He has destroyed much of that which is good about America. We have become a joke in almost every other nation in the world. The point is, how long are you willing to tolerate that?
A retired Foreign Service Officer, I am happy to see these 100s of comments of support for Ms. Milton's decision and explanation. I don't know Ms. Milton or her personal circumstances. But person after person wished her well in her next position as if that were a given, a rewarding, ethical, meaningful position that uses her skills, intelligence, and experience. Nor does anyone mention her likely loss of paid into a pension without the requisite number of years of service. plus issues re health insurance and perhaps with TSP. There might also ne health issues. I remember a doctor looing at my lungs, insisting I was/had been a smoker. I then told him of years of service in a country well known for high rates of respiratory diseases. One of the results of floating fecal matter, lack of toilets or even latrines. She has made a huge decision, not just a change of position. I wish her well at so many levels. p.s. in case you are reading these comments Ms. Milton, you want to check out Senator Warren's Foreign Policy which includes almost two pages re State Department. Might lead to a paid position or a top rung volunteer position.
23
Proud of you Bethany!
9
If only the joint chiefs had shown this courage in the run-up to the Iraq war
13
I think some of the Joined Chiefs wanted that war.
1
@Steve B.
We, FSOs, did and were ignored at best.
1
Anyone who currently works for the federal government at any level is part of the Trump administration and you are complicit in everything that takes place from the border to overseas. Making any excuses is what I would have expected to hear from a German post WWII - just doing my job.
But hey, how's that healthcare?
7
Thank you, Bethany. Thank you.
9
I think Ms. Milton has a titanium spine. She gives me some hope.
16
Amen to those comments that have pointed out the absurdity of calling ourselves a democracy. This evil buffoon lost by 3 million votes. In 2020 it's conceivable he will lose by 5 million and still squeak though the electoral college.
18
Thank you for your service, Ms Milton.
Thank you for this excellent commentary and good luck in your future endeavors.
15
Like all of us, the author needs to find a way to mostly believe in the work that she does for a living while always asking which disagreements are worth quitting over. Most are not and a few are. I hesitate to find any great meaning in her article; it is probably for the best that people like her leave State early in their careers. A true career diplomat is somebody who can enter service under Reagan and then work effectively and reasonably happily through Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama-Trump. That takes a particular temperament. Clearly that is not how the author sees herself.
@Rex Nemorensis Really? Do you see no distinction between prior Repulblican administrations and this one? I do.
1
What you fail to understand is that working under Donald Trump is different from working under a person with whom you merely have policy differences. He's incompetent, ignorant, and ruining our status among the nations - the very opposite of what a FSO is meant to be & do. It's impossible to do the job under him. I'm sorry for the people who haven't got the choice to leave.
I regret that so many of you foreign service agents have faced such a choice, and thank you for staying on as long as you did. I only worry that a new, more sanely politic, president will not have that steadying deep bench of expertise to draw on that others might have used to steady their newbie wobbles...
7
The status of immigration policy in this country is a mess, made more so by the Trump administration's and Republican's xenophobic, race-baiting pronouncements and actions. It's embarrassing and un-American. But I also know we can't just open the borders and allow everyone who wants to come to our country to come in. Our country is just not ready for a million people or more showing up at one time. Democrats need to come up with an immigration plan that takes all people's needs into consideration, and be ready to explain why it's the best plan to the American people.
6
@Bob G.
The mess on the border has been going forever... Mostly the last 30 years.
Hey I have an in grown nail I know I'll blame Trump because.....fill in the spaces.
You have made an honorable choice - not just in resigning, but also in choosing to publicize your experience working for the Trump administration. This is in contrast to the huge number of people who have left and who have chosen to remain silent, most likely because they fear retaliation in the job market. Tillerson, Spicer, multiple Chiefs of Staff and so many more have chosen to worry about themselves, rather than this country. So, kudos to you.
28
You are a wonderful person with integrity and fine character. We need as many people like you working in our government as can possibly be recruited. For this current administration, however, I wouldn't recruit any person of honor and decency. Thank you for your service, and I am so sorry about what you have had to go through.
18
I have a job in the private sector. I recently decided to retire. When people ask me what I am going to do with my time, my response is, " in this first year, I am going to dedicate my time and energy to seeing the Trump is on office for no more than one terms if Congress does not do its job to shorten his term."
41
Wow! Thank you for your work and for this incredibly moving essay.
19
Congratulations on your moral and principled stand!
Thank you for your service to our Country. The individuals that remain are complicit to this disaster. May we win the Government back to sanity in 2020.
34
The current immigration laws are obsolete - and rarely enforced. Many countries have realized that and have instituted immigration laws that are geared to get "the best and brightest" in their countries. Chain migration, family reunions and asylum for "gang related issues" may touch compassionate consular burocrats but do very little to improve the country - they add to the immense problems the US will have providing services to unskilled people. I don't share Ms. Milton point of view and I am quite happy to see her go - and find a non government job!
7
So, Melania Trump's parents should not have been allowed to join their daughter in the U.S.? They were allowed in only because of what you call "change migration."
17
My grandparents, and likely yours, arrived as unskilled immigrants. The family has since coordinated the worldwide distribution and servicing of essential military hardware that won World War II, and built small businesses that pumped millions of dollars into the regional economy for the past sixty years. Appreciating that we did not meet your baseline standards upon our arrival long ago, should we unworthies now return to our home countries? Pretty arrogant of you, to presume to be able to predict who the successes will be.
1
Btw, "chain migration" is just the term Republicans use for their propaganda purposes. The correct legal term is "family unification." And judging from your name, I'm guessing somewhere along the line - probably not very long ago - your own family availed itself of this sane & humane policy.
I learned an appreciation of the Foreign Service from one who didn't make it, and so became a history professor. He had served as a sergeant in the USMC in the Korean Conflict and had requisite degrees but was not accepted into the Foreign Service. He was an extraordinary person and a great teacher who took no nonsense. I learned more from him than any other teacher, high school, undergrad or grad school.
lf a Foreign Service officer has to be somehow better than he was, we will have a monumental task in rebuilding this institution.
17
@Carol
When I became a Foreign Service Officer in 1966 the number of applicants who passed the 2 days of written tests and survived the day long interview board grilling was about 1 in 10,000. To become an FSO is a calling which demands that our best and brightest present the best rationale for each administration's policies, not always popular wherever they might be. It is right that when the burden of justifying the unjustifiable becomes too much the FSO should resign and the rate at which we are now losing FSO's and other very experienced and knowledgeable professionals in Government service is a testament to how unjustifiable the Trump administrations policies have become. This is not "draining the swamp". It is instead tearing down the levees to allow the swamp to become deeper.
5
@Robert Brown "Tearing down the levees" == lowering standards for FSO et al.?
Among many other things wrong with this administration is the culture being mitigated by Trump’s white supremacy leanings along with his white nationalism. They represent the rending of our national character in a very negative fashion. We are an immigrant nation. We must continue to honor our history. Trump is seriously dividing us. That is the reason he must be replaced in 2020.
28
I cry for America and will work to elect non-racist leadership ...
37
Girl, you need to run for office.
45
@AMParsley
Especially if Ms. Milton's representative is a supporter of the current Administration.
7
That she’s telling foreign audiences that ‘we’re a democracy and there are future elections to come’ is just about all I need to read to know this merits little additional attention. We are not a democracy. We are a republic. There’s a distinct difference and the Founders understood this difference well.
You can not like Trump but we’ve survived miserable Presidents before. We will survive Trump too. I’m just tired of hearing the false fear mongering suggesting we won’t.
5
Please take 30 seconds to google ‘democracy or republic’. It’s a false dichotomy, used by those who don’t fully understand either word, to try and score points.
The two words are not mutually exclusive.
The US is a representative democracy. It is also a republic. Trying to make it ‘either, or’ makes no sense.
59
@Once From Rome
Oh. please. Being a democracy means that we have peaceful transitions of power based on free and fair elections.
Stop trying to split linguistic hairs as some pretzel-twisted way to justify the electoral college.
13
@Hello Bamboo - It's code among those people for "all are created equal but whites are more equal than others". That is among the ones who actually understand the words which, as you say, most of them don't. North Korea, by the way, is also a republic, as is Russia, as is China. I guess that is their idea of what we should be.
1
If the author's conscience thinks that she can no longer represent the policies of the elected administration, she has the right, nay the duty to resign.
The foreign policies of the nation are set by The People through the election of the President of the United States. It is not the role of the civil servant to question the positions taken other than in the privacy of consultation with the policy setters of the Department of State.
It is less than professional for Ms. Milton taking her shots on the way out the door.
Sorry, Ms. Milton, you are doing as much if not more to disregard the Constitution of the United States than anything Donald Trump has done.
6
@The Owl -- Milton wrote the piece as a private citizen, after resigning. Your characterization of her remarks as unconstitutional is wrong.
105
@The Owl not at all. As she said, she supported the policies of the administration until the moment she turned in her badge. Now, as a private citizen, she is exercising her duty as a citizen in fighting for liberty and justice for all.
And you take exception to that?
87
@The Owl So much here is wrong. Immigration policy is not set by the President alone. Congress has a role. Even if the executive branch had unilateral power over immigration, it would still be checked by the Constitution through the Courts. To the extent that civil servants think that the executive branch exceeds its constitutional power, they have a duty to object.
She has resigned. She is a private citizen. There is nothing unprofessional about a private citizen voicing her opinions about matters that concerned her as a public servant. Far from disregarding the Constitution, Ms. Milton embodies its principles. The First Amendment protects her right to criticize the policies of the current administration.
73
Bethany,
I very impressed by your bravery; not only to publish this account, but by your service to this country. Welcome home. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.
48
I will make one quibble with an excellent article. Our next election will look more like Afghanistan or the Republic of the Congo than it will look like what we have been used to in the past...which is perhaps not inappropriate in a country where the loser wins the election and foreign intelligence services work openly for one of the parties.
20
As a retired foreign service officer I am horrified to read of the resignation of yet another of our finest career people. Unfortunately, the average American knows little of what foreign service people do, often under difficult and life threatening circumstances. With very few friends left in the world, this is a sad time for our country.
98
@suschar...
As a retired foreign service officer, sir, it is not your place to comment on the personnel policies of the current leadership of the Department of State.
Additionally, while you are free to challenge the policies set by the Trump administration, you are not entitled to assert YOUR litmus test for the judgment of those that are in charge.
Frankly, I very glad that you are a RETIRED foreign service officer. I fear that you would have been a poor advocate of the policies set by your political masters.
2
I'm just glad "the owl" is a Massachusetts resident, where his/her uber-conservative vote is irrelevant.
4
@The Owl You'd think you had enough chastisement on the last post. Please go read the First Amendment. Any of us has the right to our opinions and to express them freely. That applies to retired and former public servants and, in some cases, to current government employees who speak out on matters of public concern.
Most folks comfortable in the wisdom of their views welcome free and full discussion. They don't try to silence or insult those who they disagree with.
Best to you.
3
My guess is the average Trump supporter will regard Ms. Milton's departure as a mark of his success: that's one more salary off the books, and one more person who will no longer be helping foreigners come to this country.
It may be time to start a movement to take that obsolete statue standing in New York Harbor down.
27
@Roger C
... and I forgot to add, that this country, as I have been reminded on many occasions by various right wingers is not - nor was it ever intended to be - a democracy. It is a Republic.
5
The United States is not a republic, it is a representative democracy.
11
Please take 30 seconds to Google ‘Democracy or Republic’
It’s a false dichotomy, used by those who don’t fully understand the meaning of either word to score points.
The two are not mutually exclusive. Th US is a representative democracy. It’s also a republic.
21
Thank you, Bethany, for your years of service to our country.
My grandparents and my father were all immigrants who came to this country with hope and dreams. I have not forgotten....
33
@-APR
We were ALL IMMIGRANTS to this land besides the indigenous people. ;)
And thank you Bethany for a wonderfully written description of your viewpoint. I am so happy to have you now fighting for a change in the leadership of this Nation!
30
@krisanthi99
Actually, there are no "indigenous peoples" in any of the Americas. We all came from somewhere else. Even the so-called Native Americans were not originally native to the Americas. Their ancestors just got here a good deal earlier than the Europeans.
1
I was surprised that one of the readers commented that "Trump is just doing what past Republican presidents have done". Perhaps I am wrong, but in my lifetime, I know of no president, Republican or Democrat, whose actions were to dismantle the institutions that were established to create this democracy. I don't think it is an issue of Democrat or Republican, I think there is a broader issue at hand: one of democratic leadership.
I don't recall any president inserting so many unqualified people to lead our govt. - some without skill or experience some with personal, professional or financial conflicts of interest - eg Betsy DeVos ,Wilbur Ross, Tom Price, Ben Carson, Rick Perry, Scott Pruit. These people simply advance the president's personal preferences and their personal gains.
I thought the role of government, including the State Department, is to protect the well being and safety of its citizens based on law, legal constitution and civil standards - that citizens were too benefit from the programs put forth by the national agencies and programs not be threatened by them. Unfortunately, rather than acting in the interests of citizens their actions mostly promote the special interests of a small/select group of private parties. The actions of these leaders and their minions are effectively dismantling the institutions of our democracy.
I completely understand your decision and I'm glad my immigrant grandparents aren't around to see this.
83
Ms. Milton. Thank you for your honesty. When it was reported yesterday that the State Department was not "invited" to the G-7 and referred the increasingly incoherent statements coming out to the White House, concern turned to despondency. What a loss of career government talent since 2017. It will take decades to recover.
49
@Florence Alas, probably so true. After the defeat of the Chinese Nationalists jn 1948 and the rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy, the Republican war cry was that Roosevelt and Truman-era diplomats "lost China." The ensuing purge from the State Department of "old China hands" -- dedicated professionals with firsthand knowledge of the country and its people -- took decades to repair. And that was far fewer people than today.
18
Although I have never dealt with US consular personnel, those overseas representatives of the State Department I have met so far have been friendly and helpful.
It must have been painful for Bethany Milton to leave a mission she so cherished.
The problem she points out is nothing new. Since Trump’s day one in office, he had destroyed much of what many seasonsed diplomats and foreign policy wonks had accomplished.
Last week Elizabeth Warren rolled out a plan to rebuild the State Department, which she said had suffered a "toxic combination of malice and neglect” as Trump imposed hiring freezes and proposed slashing its budget.
Warren described her strategy as “diplomacy-first,” saying she hopes to ensure the State Department can rival the Pentagon, which she said is nearly 40 times bigger, allowing Trump to flex his military muscles. Her plan is about expanding the State Department, including doubling the size of the foreign service and opening new diplomatic posts in under-served areas.
No doubt it is the best strategy to boost America’s soft power, repairing the damage that Trump has inflicted on the country’s global standing and its leadership status.
Other presidential candidates must adopt her agenda. Needless to say any new president will fare better than Trump.
56
I'd like to know how many have left the State Department because of differences with the administration. I'd also like to know how many scientists have left or been pushed out.
31
@Janine - Too many, I'm afraid. Way too many.
6
@Janine I'd like to know how many military officers have left as well.
2
@Janine The more the better. Drain the swamp.
A country where the president can be elected by a minority of the vote, a country of voter suppression and gerrymandering, a country where government goes against the core values of the majority, cannot be called a democracy.
177
@Doug Broome
Very true and I have stated this many times in my circle of friends .
23
@Doug Broome, that's why it's become popular in conservative circles to claim that the US is a "republic" and not a "democracy", even though those terms are so general as to make the statement entirely meaningless.
21
Since its founding the US has been a representative democracy, which can also be a republic. The terms are not mutually exclusive.
Representative democracy- democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people
A republic- a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch
Absolute democracy- implies one-person-one-vote on all issues.
In fact the Washington Post wrote an article on this in 2015: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/05/13/is-the-united-states-of-america-a-republic-or-a-democracy/?noredirect=on
7
Thank you, Ms. Milton, for staying with your State Department job for as long as you did despite your objections to the new objectionable rules and regulations being promoted. I can understand and appreciate your efforts at trying to maintain a sense of normalcy and balance in your office. I also understand that you couldn't take it any longer and felt you had to resign. What I can't understand is that the leaders of the Republican Party and the Republican Senate have not followed suit. It is beyond me that these supposedly bright men and women can support Mr. Trump and his immoral administration.
60
@Sheila Dropkin...
If she couldn't zealously represent the foreign policies of the administration to those in her assigned country, she had no business being a foreign service officer.
1
@The Owl Right. Which is why she left. And is speaking out about the appalling choices facing those in public service.
5
.
This essay bodes a damaging and long-term problem for our government's survival.
The loss of intelligent, dedicated and trained governmental personnel is disastrous in the short term. Things simply won't get done. Those who stay will be overworked and lacking in resources. Perhaps the most serious, these folks won't feel that their skills are appreciated ... and their morale will evaporate. Resignations will accelerate.
Unfortunately, it's much worse than this short-term calamity.
It will take a decade or so - even in the best of conditions - for new recruits to get confidence that the work environment has improved. That they would have a challenging, respected & lifelong career. And that they would surrounded with enough other trained coworkers to be effective in their endeavors.
Our current administration has a year and a half still to go; things won't even begin to improve before then.
39
@JPG
No government in the world has survived for very long.
don't kid yourselves. voting trump out will not solve the problem. trump is little more than a vehicle (a useful idiot) for the right and wouldn't have been able to do squat without the corrupt and spineless republicans in the senate and the GOP hate machine in general. The party has undermined democracy at every opportunity and clearly doesn't care about the damage trump is doing; as long as they maintain power, pack the courts and protect their own.
72
@JM
Agreed. We must all vote Republican, starting and most important (after Trump) Mitch McConnell. The people of Kentucky deserve better and so do we all. There is a fine candidate running against him, I hope they give her a chance.
13
@JM It's not just the Republicans in congress and the Senate, what about the ordinary Americans who voted for Trump?
In a sense the republic has been lucky, Trump is a lazy, stupid coward. What if the next Trump lacks one of those attributes. What if he's smart and has a plan? Then we are truly in trouble.
4
You are so right, Bethany. Trump and his ridiculous, destructive administration must think that they are working behind an opaque screen. The entire world see what they are doing, as do we. Add to that the blithering, brainless Tweets of the Ignoramus-in-Chief - Tweets that change and contradict themselves from second to second - and you have a previously credible country that cannot now be trusted in any way and whose actions are apocalyptically destructive.
Whatever "statespeople" remain in place have been decapitated by the chief ignoramus - they have little choice but to leave and be replaced by some 12-year-old Fox propagandist moron, thus making things even worse. Our ship has no Captain or rudder, unlike Russia, N Korea, China, Saudi Arabia and Iran, to name a few.
I was at the UN Security Council when Stevenson redressed Zorin. I heard Aba's Eban so eloquently speak there. THESE WERE STATESMEN. What we have now under Trump are ignorant political groupies whose allegiance is sworn to Trump and not this country. WE ARE AT GREAT RISK!
I understand your frustration and dismay. We must eliminate this pathology as soon as possible.
27
I’m sorry you’re leaving but understand why. While Tillerson was correct in calling out our *President* for the moron he is, he was very wrong in the critical damage he did by firing or forcing out senior State Department officials. It was an enormous loss of experience, integrity, and knowledge & began the decimation of a critical dept that is irreplaceable.
25
Thank you for your service and your dedication to the ideals of America.
Trump will disappear, sooner or later, and we will be left with the rubble of his white supremacism, bigotry, and xenophobia as well as sexism, when considering the rape victims mentioned here.
People of conscience, true patriots, owe it to the United States to fight anyone and any party who do not adhere to the founding principles.
Abraham Lincoln famously and prophetically wrote, "I am not a Know Nothing....ow can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor of degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we begin by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes." When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty-to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy."
Lincoln's party no longer exists, but the Declaration of Independence which declared equality of all does.
The shameful and criminal actions of the Trump administration and its abetters will have a very dark place in history.
18
We're losing the public service of good people like this because of this garbage administration and its racism, climate denial and criminality.
25
Ms. Milton, thank you for your service to our country. I sincerely respect and support your decision to resign. When the cons outweigh the pros, it is time to move on. Good luck in your future endeavors.
17
Welcome home, Bethany, and thank you for being a true patriot, representing what is best of the United States, and your service.
23
It's so reassuring to hear Ms. Milton's thoughts about this … because she's intimately aware of the people and complexities and efforts involved in the immigration process.
Donald J. Trump is a reactionary, who doesn't know, doesn't understand, and doesn't care to know or understand … because he's only interested in his attitudes and uninformed opinions, along with those who share that approach to the nation's problems.
20
As for the promises of "future elections to come," I fear Trump voters have irreparably harmed the reputation of the United States around the world, because for the first time, we have a president to cavalierly upends longstanding agreements that have been honored by presidents of both parties. I think that prior to Trump, it never occurred to them that Americans would elect such an individual. But now that it has, those countries must, in all future dealings with the United States, consider the possibility that any agreement or treaty could potentially be undone after the next election. We can't unring that bell.
25
These activities of our State Department continue, why say otherwise?
@NYT Reader Apparently you haven't been following what has happened to the Department of State. The immediate hiring freeze enacted by Trump after entering office. Stripping the budget, cutting staff at home and around the world, and firing top level career officers who were leading experts in their areas, who supported previous administrations with the facts and data of situations on the ground around the world. As of April 4, 2019, 52 Ambassador posts remained empty. Bush 2 had all but 15 posts filled by his second year.
Trump is at every turn, using whatever means available to him to turn this nation into an authoritarian government, run by his own personal beliefs and narcissistic whims. The harm will last for decades. He imperils every US citizen and certainly foreign nationals, not to mention children kept in detention at our southern boarder. It's a shameful time in our nation's history.
1
The problem is that Trump actually wants to gut the State Department, so he wouldn't see everyone leaving as a problem.
20
@Michael OFarrell You could fire half the people in the Truman building in Washington, DC and no one would notice.
Bravo, Bethany Milton. That was a vital 15-second lesson.
12
I can't imagine working for any part of this administration and almost feel sorry for foreign service officers who shelter in place under threat of random purges because they need their jobs. It's a terrible state of affairs for the country, and especially for contentious people trapped inside the terror dome that is the trump administration.
18
@Steve I think that you meant to write "conscientious" people trapped inside, rather than "contentious" people trapped inside, in which case I recommend your note.
2
The subheading says '....promise that we’re a democracy and that there are future elections to come...' The first is true (if representative democracy in a federal system of government counts) but the second need not give any comfort to those who are distressed. Elections got us into this mess and future elections may not get us out of this mess. Hope is not a robust and sound basis for the future if hope defers and delays corrective action today.
6
Future elections to come? People should vote in them and we wouldn’t be in this mess. Maybe we need to move to a system of compulsory voting that many countries have adopted. In an article several weeks ago, a commentator, ranting about Trump, declared that they threw out their mail-in ballot because they “couldn't’ stand to look at Clinton”, and asserted the right to “vote or not vote my conscience”.
15
Thank you Ms Milton. I don't blame you as Trump has downplayed diplomacy in favor of impulsive, thoughtless something.
So, we have roughly 40% of the population that can be divided into two groups: 1) those who are too simple to understand; and 2) those who watch and listen to right wing drivel like Fox Opinion (except for Wallace and Shep Smith who are in 'news' that appears to be separate).
We are in a deep hole and hoping for a revival in 2020.
25
Bravo to Ms. Milton for having the strength of her convictions. However, assuming that this nightmare will eventually end, building the state department back up when we have lost so many with 10 or more years of experience is a going to be a daunting task. So easy to destroy; building things requires more skill, knowledge, and time.
28
Trump is the destroyer of worlds.
5
The latest in a handful of diplomats who resigned because Trump is president. Most/all that I know of who quit under Trump joined during the Obama years. I met a lot of them when I, too, was a diplomat. Most had no interest in knowing, never mind representing America. They joined as social justice warriors, anxious to promote their half of America, and to represent the America they liked in college. They relished telling other "bad" nations they were wrong in the way they treated women and LGBT people. They wanted to democratize Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and elsewhere. They reminded me of 1960s Best and Brightest who sought to remake the globe with their Ivy League morals and ended up with Vietnam.
When a president from the other half of America took office in2016 these sad warriors quit. Good, we do not need them. They do not understand service, and certainly do not understand how a democracy works. They are politically selfish.
They remained far too ideological, far too certain of their own virtue, absolutely convinced of their righteousness that a competing set of ideas brought into office by a president they did not vote for was simply too much cognitive dissonance.
FYI, I joined State when Reagan was president and was forced out during Obama. I understood my oath was to the nation, the Constitution, and I understood representing America was what I was doing, not representing me.
8
@Peter Van Buren, Yes, Trump is the master of producing cognitive dissonance and It seems naive on your part to suggest that those who can not work for an administration as dysfunctional and chaotic " do not understand service, and certainly do not understand how a democracy works. They are politically selfish". Young people in service often are idealistic. You probably were too, at one time. Usually, time and experience tempers that, but when the competing ideas are so disparate it may force a hard choice.
5
@Peter Van Buren
Speaking of extreme ideology. How about believing God chose Trump to defend Israel like the Secretary of State does? The new group around Trump are selectively using ancient middle eastern ideas about women and marriage, so there's that. Looking for safety and fairness for women in oppression regimes doesn't sound that bad to me. Sorry it upset you.
4
@Peter Van Buren "A competing set of ideas brought into office by a president they did not vote for was simply too much cognitive dissonance." What you call a competing set of ideas is what I would call "evil." This is not about competing, rational visions. It's impossible for a moral person to get on board with the racism, jingoism, fear-mongering, scapegoating, and cruelty of this president. To get on board with it is to be complicit. Kudos to the author for acknowledging what you seem unable to.
6
Welcome home. Thank you for your service and your integrity.
29
I congratulate you for resigning on principle. Doing so is not always the right course of action. When you became a Foreign Service officer, you must have understood that you would be called on to publicly support policies with which you disagreed -- probably strongly. It would also have been a breach of professional ethics for you to resign if doing so had materially hindered the conduct of US foreign policy -- possibly precipitated by an exodus from the State Department.
But you got all that. You also exercised your right to use the Department's dissent channel -- and you suffered no reprisals. So far so good.
But, while you behaved impeccably, up to the end, the colleagues who leaked your memo to the press behaved abominably. Their short-sighted behavior will probably mean that the State Department's dissent channel will have to be closed down. The cost to the Department and the country will be enormous. And, in future, Foreign Service officers will have to hide their opinions from their colleagues.
I hope the leakers will be tracked down and punished to the full extent of the law. They seem unaware of the gravity of their crime. If they cannot resist the need for instant moral gratification, they were never morally fit to do their jobs. After serving 6 months in prison, they should condemned to spend the rest of their lives writing op-eds for the New York Times!
14
Ms. Milton:
I'm very sorry but we can't let the rest of the word come to live in the US just b/c they don't like the place where they currently live.
4
@James
that is exactly how your grandparents and my grandparents came to America. To escape where they were living. Whether because of repression, or a desire for a democratic life, or a desire for a better and freer economy, or for a lot of those reasons combined, this is what America is. To say you cant enter solely because you dont like where you live now is to role back all the good that got our families here in the first place.
29
James, I know my immigrant history. My German G-G-grandparents came with their seven children and other relatives arriving in New York on 14 March 1873, fleeing a European depression which left them virtually penniless, called the “Great Depression” until the Great Depression of 1929). All they had to do to enter this country was walk off the boat. They had an additional four children in the US. My Irish G-G-G-grandparents arrived earlier: in the in the 1840’s. They fled poverty, starvation, and political and religious repression. All they had to do to enter this country was walk off the boat. The men, women and children who come now come for the same reasons and confront the same nativist prejudice the my ancestors had to deal with. Check into your own immigrant history, then decide how contemporary immigrants should be treated. This country once was proud to be the Beacon on the Hill. I pray we once I again reclaim our idealism.
37
@James
Thanks for the comment. It will surely encourage well read people to vote.
10
Ms Milton,
For good reason, you bring to mind the heroic Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who, contrary to the aims of his "administration," saved tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust because it was right and he could do it. I, like reader Maureen, also thank you for your "service, courage and integrity" -- precisely the qualities of Wallenberg, who set the template for how to be a diplomat with a conscience.
20
My hope is after 2020 and an administration change, there will be many who will want to return to their posts and avocations, and there will be a path for them to quickly do so. There has been such a brain and experience drain, much to the deficit of our country.
24
I am not in favor of career employees caving to the insanity of the moment.. We need you to stay there, to be the voice of sanity to reemerge intact when Trump is gone..My dad was with State for 25 years after working for Bobby Kennedy in New York..He survived the assassination of John and Robert Kennedy, the Marcos dictatorship, the Beirut embassy bombings, the 1967 six day war..What are we going to do when all the people who know something just give up?? I am not impressed or convinced.
6
@grace thorsen And what exactly are you doing?
The damage that can be done by leaders in a democracy who betray the trust of the people who elect them is almost too much to imagine. Besides working harder to elect the right people, we must work just as hard to repair our venerable but flawed democracy to make it harder for fools and imposters to take charge. We must double our efforts.
16
Mr. Trump would react to this essay with, "good riddance." His "supporters" would react by saying, "but they're stealing our jobs and murdering our citizens!" The only hope is if the people for whom Ms. Milton's reasons for leaving are no surprise, vote. "But I live in a 'vote-doesn't-matter' jurisdiction" is parroting a Republican fabrication, part of their voter suppression strategy for survival. The fact is that Mr. Trump's viewpoint, now the Republican viewpoint, is not consistent with the way most of humanity is wired. If every eligible voter goes to the polls, the narrow minded, baseless fear of people who are different will be washed out of our government. And then I hope Ms. Milton and others like her will return to their posts.
18
People like this are worth a million trumps.
29
Meanwhile Rome burns.
Yet another sad example of the real damage this Administration is doing. Damage that will not easily be repaired.
"No one knows exactly how many employees have left the State Department because of this administration’s policies and mismanagement..."
How many have left...for any reason?
What parts of the State Department are most affected?
Are there exit interviews available for publication?
How many years of accumulated experience have been lost?
How does this affect our national security?
The Times would serve us so much better if they included a daily sidebar or page, titled MEANWHILE, that chronicles the short and long term damage this administration continues to inflict on our institutions and culture. Brick by brick this precious idea we call America is being destroyed. And we know so little of it.
We can't hope to deal with the damage if we don't know what it is. Enough of the bright shiny objects. What's really going on is what's really the matter. We will be dealing with that long after Trump is gone.
18
What a loss for the State Dept. and this country. When this Trumpian nightmare of a regime is finally over, I hope that public servants like Ms. Milton will consider returning to repair the damage done to our institutions and reputation.
16
The globe is on fire literally and metaphorically.
Trump, the Fellowship, Putin and other ordained dictators are destroying the beautiful planet God created for all life to enjoy.
The next duly elected President of the United States will have to restore our strong alliances with democracies around the world, and stop viewing China as an enemy, but rather a partner in global stability and prosperity.
The entire world must work together to stop squabbling and conniving and begin renewing the sustainability of Planet Earth for generations to follow.
There is plenty of work to be done!
14
There are democracies that work and then there is the United States. It will take much longer than one election cycle for the leaders and citizens of world democracies to trust the US. If a trump can be "elected" once it can happen again unless there is a total overhaul of the US electoral system. Ms. Milton is to be thanked for her service and hopefully she, and civil servants like her, will return when professionalism and civility return to the public sphere. That being said I am not holding my breathe for that day to come!
10
Thank you for this article Bethany. I had about 5 friends get deported during the Obama reign, NOW all of my foreign art friends are being denied visas, (which they all previously were granted) and having to return home. I mean its not good. I'm not sure how selections are made (suitcase with money seems about right) but artists of all stripes from everywhere should have access to the HUGE and once welcoming country. Thanks
9
Thank you for your service, Bethany. And thank you for your insider wisdom and insight. I appreciate you. I have been paying attention to the diminishing state department. I’m an artist, and I’ve created a piece dedicated just to this topic, within a larger series about all of the people #firedorforcedout of the trump administration (see it on insta “talismanplace”). The conditions that have created this revolving door of chaos is disgraceful to our democracy. I hope that with your new resolve and more people paying attention, we can make change for the better.
8
Ms. Milton, you are quite wrong if you think there isn't something inherently immoral about choosing to serve in any role in this administration. The evidence was right there in the words of Trump and his advisors during the campaign and us New Yorkers knew it years before then. Had you truly chosen to stand up for your values, you would have left the State Department right after your letter was published. Instead, you chose your career over your principles for two additional years.
A very close friend of mine retired after 30 years of very senior service in the intelligence arena about seven months after Trump took office. When he asked me if he should consider joining this White House, I told him absolutely not. He listened. You should have listened to your heart as well.
5
@JF
Armchair critics are a dime a dozen.
Ms. Milton made the right choice over time and considering her own personal circumstances (of which you don't have a clue).
What have you done lately as a "moral crusader?"
Sanctimony is cheap.
4
@JF
Do not judge if you haven't walked a mile in her shoes.
3
@Concerned Citizen I know dozens of people still in government service in DC. To a person, they say it is now nearly impossible to do good work. Most are just biding time. So, yes, it's been pretty black and white for at least the last 18 months.
1
"What is there left to defend to foreign audiences,..."
Audiences? Is that what foreign policy is all about? Entertainment of the masses? Maybe she thinks she is supplying material for a Hollywood movie?
1
No, that's Trump's gig - constantly playing to the audience. Conservatives are great at one thing: projection. Roll cameras!
4
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus Foreign policy is about maintaining global stability, which benefits us all. You took one word out of context and turned it into a why-should-America-care-about foreigners rant. It’s not about entertaining anyone, it’s about America maintaining its influence through it’s integrity and it’s moral authority. Yes, diplomacy costs money—but it’s cheaper than war.
3
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus She's obviously talking about the foreign diplomats she worked with, not entertainment. What do you think diplomats do?
2
This is a choice I wouldn't face eagerly, and a culmination of what I suspect, is an intended plan by trump acolytes. A plan that will take years, maybe decades, to repair.
It is truly frightening the exodus of not only leaders, but people among the ranks who have no choice but to leave their chosen professions because of the dismantlement of public institutions.
It's also disturbing how many people clearly relish the loss of institutional knowledge that will disappear.
It must hurt you deeply Bethany, to be put in such a position. I would have no choice but to do the same.
15
I'm sorry, Ms Milton. You're two years too late.
1
@LaBuffune That's pretty dismissive, sitting on the sidelines and making flippant comments. She's most likely gone through a great many more travails and crises of conscience than you. Cut her some slack.
4
What we should remember about Trump's lawyer Micheal Cohen is that Cohen is an example of the sycophants that Trump our "Apprentice" president surrounds himself with.
Thank you Ms. Milton for your service to America and having the courage to not only leave this deaf and corrosive Administration, but also to communicate your message so clearly.
10
You did what any self-respecting individual ends up doing. You may realize that, under the devious tutelage of lying Trump, we have lost what used to be a real democracy; and now, we are dealing with a pluto-kleptocracy intent in disemboweling any virtues it used to have.My comments may be censored but it is the unvarnished truth. And if we, collectively, do not stand against this institutionalized violence, we may eventually become complicit...by looking the other way.
10
To all those who have had to resign due to conflicts of conscience, Bravo, and work well done.
The GOP is ignoring the serious damage Trump has done to the US in international affairs. By their silence and their acquiescence, the majority of the GOP has become complicit in the undoing of America's reputation in the world. I have no idea why they are willing to sell America's soul for this president who has demonstrated time after time to be not much more than a lying self interested egomaniac.
Lord, have mercy!
8
Of course Trump is undoing the reputation the USA developed very strongly under Obama. That's what he was
elected to do!
That reputation developed under Obama is described in one word: "patsy".
When one works for an amoral administration there comes a point where you only have two options, become more like that administration or leave. Trying to maintain a level of morality when what you are being directed to do goes against basic democratic, social justice and constitutional vales can literally tear you apart. Thank-you for your service, for hanging in there and this beautiful but sad essay. I continue to ask myself how could 35% of Americans still support this monster.
18
@Alan
Fortunately for the 46.2% of the voters who elected Trump in 2016, many of whom did not particularly like his personality, no one in the clown car of Democrat candidates is particularly appealing, even to Democrats.
Running on the "I'm Not Trump" and "All Trump supporters are evil" platforms are not recipes for success, as they were not for the DNC and Hillary in 2016.
Most Americans are not in favor of expediting immigration visas from citizens of countries hostile to America, which seems to be the position of Bethany. The majority are opposed to illegal immigration, which Bethany does not address, but which the clown car seems to advocate.
Pretending the Democrat position of encouraging adult illegal aliens to bring along a child is a moral policy option demonstrates the immorality of Democrats.
Creating a narrative of moral v. immoral policy choices, and claiming anyone opposing the clearly corrupt position of Democrats is evil, is a loser argument.
Why haven't Democrats ever advanced immigration reform that would be good for America as well as being good for the world?
Thank you for your service. New leadership is imperative.
10
For those working in any capacity under this administration who would resign if their personal circumstances permitted, or those who fear that any public criticism would draw retaliation, we, looking in from the outside, sympathize with your plight and respect your effort to do your best under oppressive conditions.
15
Watching Trump’s pyromaniac performance at the just completed “G6 + 1”, which adds to the long list of shameful atrocities this man has caused, it’s understandable that Ms. Milton would want seek distance and long for thorough moral bath.
Sadly though, by abandoning the State Department’s professional diplomatic ranks, as a country, we run the risk of weakening our institutions from experienced professionals to dangerous levels.
Our democracy can overcome this “stable genius” by removing him in 2020.
9
Thank you for taking the stand.
“The day you can no longer publicly support your administration’s policies is the day you need to resign.” Frankly, I am surprised that so many still support the Trump's policies, although I get the feeling that this is changing....
3
Well Ms Milton I must congratulate you on your decision. You have a far higher moral standing that most of our GOP elected official's. When your choice was to support the administration or the values American is built on you chose American.
10
Score another "Win" for Trump and Putin. And another loss for The USA, democracy and decency in general. Like the author, I am focusing my anger at the GOP's racist/xenophobic/homophobic/Evangelical-hypocritical "base" and the Democrats for whom Hillary Clinton did not pass their purity test. And by focusing I mean donating to my top three presidential candidates, talking to everybody I know about the importance of the decision we face in 2020, and the coming horrors if we fail to stop what has already begun to erode our bedrock principles. If I don't then I will not be able to look at myself in the mirror.
10
Ms. Milton, thank you for all that you have done through your service. It's people like you who made a difference in ways big and small, visible and invisible in far reaches of the world. But I completely understand your stance and applaud you for following your moral and integrity compass.
7
Years ago Porras and Collins opined that share prices of companies with core values exceeded those of companies lacking them. Unfortunately with this “businessman” president, that trove is forgotten or buried within his limited transactional attention span. Kudos to Ms. Milton for sustaining her values (and those of our country). Tough times require tough choices as occurs when values are not aligned.
5
What is there left to defend to foreign audiences, other than a promise that we’re a democracy.
Really?
Don't worry - no-one outside America is under the illusion it is a democracy.
Voter suppression of African American voters
The electoral college
Gerry mandering
Are you kidding us?
I am grateful every day of the week and Sunday that Australians understand how lucky we are not to be like America in the version of its 'democracy'.
26
@EC
Again, if 87% of a country want better background checks for all gun purchases.....
...and if that with of the PEOPLE cannot even be voted on in the Senate....
...because members of the controlling party take money from a lobby group...
..HOW IS THAT A DEMOCRACY.
2
@EC
Dual US-Australian citizen here... Australia is a magnificent country but very far from being a perfect democracy either.
It is very unsettling to go to bed and wake up in the morning to find, unexpectedly and without notice, that there is a new head of state elected by exactly no one apart from some backroom pollies. This happened many times in the last decade in Australia but could not happen in the US.
@Dinky Di
I don't mind that about Australia's system. I like that you vote for a party and their positions, never a celebrity king or queen. It is party democracy.
I left the Foreign Service recently, but from another agency that has no "dissent process" and thus no protections. It's hard when you've spent over a decade building your career and happily representing a country you love. At first, I thought Trump would prove to be more reasonable after he got into office. But if anything, he became increasingly reckless and embarrassing. I used to go into work at the Embassy and look at the flag with pride. But in the last two years, I couldn't look at it with the same feelings. Every day brought some new embarrassment from the President - something I had to try to defend. It became impossible. I have many former colleagues who are hoping to wait it out and see what happens in 2020 - hoping we can get a reasonable person in the WH. I understand that. I couldn't wait.
39
@JayCasey
I believe that you serve at the 'behest' of the President. Perhaps, this will have to be examined after this Adnministration?
Thanks, I hope that you can find that same sense of pride in '20. 'Yes, We Can' should be changed to 'Yes, We Must'.
Beautiful.
Thank you for your service and thank you for your deeply courageous integrity.
Now it's the GOP's turn to grow the same kind of spine and patriotism. But I'm not holding my breath.
41
Whatever you choose to do next, please include in your plans active participation in the effort to elect new leadership that is committed to the preservation of our democracy. You obviously have the experience and expertise to help in this effort, which is essentially a diplomatic challenge to convince the majority of voting Americans that it is in their interests to replace the Trump regime. Please get out there and tell your story to those who need to hear it and that's not the readers of NYT who are already committed to our pluralistic society.
Thank you for your valuable service to America and to the people of the world who need our help.
33
It's not up to me to advise other people what to do, but I wouldn't like to work for him no matter the salary, the prestige and the perks, let alone have to shake hands with him.
It's obvious now that he takes advise from no one but himself and never will.
Unless you are behind on your rent and college loans, I would advise all State Department employees to update your resumes and get out of there.
14
... takes advice ....
1
Welcome back, thank you and best wishes.
29
Bless you and thank you for you service, courage and integrity.
37
More than 30,000 stranded American travelers found welcome in Canada after the 9/11 terror attacks, 7,000 of them in one small city, Gander, N.L. Schools and halls quickly became emergency shelters. Residents invited people into their homes for showers, beds and meals. People stripped their houses bare of sheets and towels, and offered the use of their vehicles. Pharmacists filled prescriptions from all over the word at no cost. Local businesses emptied their shelves of food, clothing, toys and toiletries at no cost. Kudlow claimed after the last G7 in Quebec that there is a special place in hell for countries like Canada for imposing $ for $ tariffs on US goods in response to the Trump tariffs while Trump stated PM was weak and can't be trusted. Je me souviens
177
I was one of them. Enjoying the hospitality of my friends in Toronto, who gave me refuge when returning home was not an option. “Oh Canada ...”
4
@stewart: Kudlow is a dunce!
Kudos to Bethany for her comments. But I wonder where this comes from: "As a Foreign Service officer, your job is to support the administration." Is this a part of the oath Foreign Service Officers must take?? I don't know, but I rather doubt it!
I recall Wally Hickel's comment re Nixon: he (Hickel0 would go away only "with an arrow in my heart, not a bullet in my back."
Why don't Foreign Service officers - and others - openly disagree with the administration - and wait if and until they are explicitly and publicly fired before resigning? Raising hell about administration foolishness would be more useful than quietly resigning and slipping away.
7
@Frank Williams you are required to promote the policies of whoever the citizens elected. This has rarely been an issue for Foreign Service Officers through both Republicans and Democrats. But Trump is beyond all of that.
16
Even before reading your piece, Ms. Milton--and I'll be reading it in just a moment--
--I am imagining already the skillful epithets Mr. Trump'll be flinging in your direction.
How about "Bleating Bethany"? "Busybody Ms. Bethany."? "Maundering Ms. Milton"?
Sakes, the mastery of human language exhibited by our Commander in Chief. I am imagining the epithets he might fling at Susan Fitzwater. "Sob sister Susan" might fill the bill.
(But this is her husband, not her. And you know--I think I"ll withhold my name. You know--I like the name. I would wish to keep it unsoiled from the barbaric clutches of Mr. Donald J. Trump.)
My goodness, what a rant. Sorry about that!
But the lineaments of your story, Ms. Milton. I feel I know them even before I read it.
The barbaric ignorance. The barbaric bigotry. The barbaric indifference to the dreams and sorrows of people who are NOT (like you and me) white.
The dreadful story of Mr. Donald J. Trump. And the bigots and racists to whom (at frequencies NOT above human hearing) he emitted those dog whistles--
--that brought him to the White House.
And here we are.
I gather you quit. Many another decent man and woman has quit--over the past two and a half years. Many more might quit over the next year and a half.
They can't take it anymore.
Our government is in the hands of barbarians.
God help these United States!
God help us all!
30
@Susan Fitzwater Actually, what “brought him to the White House” was the racist, antiquated, and anti-majoritarian Electoral College system that was put into the US Constitution in 1787 by white Southern slaveowners. It’s time we rid ourselves of the malignant Electoral College.
1
I am sorry but the US is only barely a democracy. Money can be used to bribe any government official ("contributions" and "lobbying") or influence votes and there are no limits. Your vote can be devalued by gerrymandering. Politicians actively try to make it harder for people to vote if it helps them get elected. The electoral college makes it possible for people to get elected without a majority. The courts are politicized through elections and partisan for-life appointments.
Democracy is a pretty thin veneer in the USA.
27
PS. Thank you, Ms. Milton for your years of service to our nation! Godspeed.
18
I hope that Ms. Milton, as well as the other State Department employees, along with the scientists, who've all had to leave government jobs in the last two years can be reinstated once a sane president is in charge: one who believes in science and humane treatment toward others.
36
Ms. Milton, I join those who thank you for your years of service to our country and what we stand for. As you say, each of us has a red line that we cannot ignore and I commend you for sticking it out as long as you did but finally having the courage to leave with your soul intact. I worry about those whose “loyalty“ gets in the way of their conscience.
Staying in toxic environments can do more damage than we realize. I suspect that all Americans of conscience are suffering in deeply troubling ways. We will probably not realize until after we and our fellow citizens vote Donald Trump out of office in 2020 just how seriously we
have been affected by his hateful attitudes, words and policies. I expect each of us will end up suffering some degree of PTSD after this era ends.
May you, Ms. Milton, find peace and new beginnings on your journey. You can feel good about the people you have helped to find their way out of difficult circumstances. I am certain you will find a way to continue helping our fellow travelers.
27
I am sad. We need FSOs like Ms. Milton, more than ever. Trump will not last, he is crumbling as we speak. Perhaps he will still be in office come election day 2020. No matter, he will definitely be gone by January 20th, 2021. At which point we will have so much work to do, and will rely on the caring, experienced professionals like Ms. Milton to start to undo all the damage. I understand that she found serving under Trump intolerable, but I wish she could have taken the long view. This too shall pass, not soon enough, but soon. For all of the other FSOs contemplating resigning, please don’t. We need you.
11
Welcome home, Ms. Milton. We're fortunate to once again have a mind and voice and will such as yours facilitate the profound changes that must be made in this country, by the next election or sooner, for the sake of all beings on our shared planet.
13
The present course of our country is profoundly disturbing. The shining light to the world is now tarnished by racism, xenophobia, hatred and the lack of a moral compass. This letter from Ms. Milton captures the sadness so many of us feel when we contemplate what being an "american" has become fo too many politicians and voters. If we had more Bethany Miltons we could once again be the bearer of the torch of liberty. Thank you for your service - then and now.
20
Of course on the other hand we will always have civil servants that support the administration, have no interest in resigning, and in fact will use resignations to help themselves up the ladder into newly available positions. These are the civil servants which historically always fill in the niches of fascists regimes. The ones that supervised the railroads for instance in Nazi Germany, those engineers and paper pushers and rail car managers that shuttled men, women and children to the camps. Just for instance.
We are not there yet but many of our experienced civil servants are leaving. And unfortunately you can probably write another essay on those who stayed behind for ideological reasons, supporting the deconstruction of their own agencies, the de-fanging of the enforcement provisions and the ridicule of previous attempts to make our country a fairer more just nation.
Yes an election is coming. The ship can be righted. The bilge pumps manned. Choose your analogy. But there is something very rotten down in the hold. It is an empowered group of Americans, most of the Republicans, who will never admit that this administration has been damaging our great democracy. And I think that our foreign audiences have a better perspective on this than many of my fellow Americans...
21
Whoever the next President of the United States is, the very first thing he or she ought to do is offer every federal government employee who resigned under Trump their job back. In the case of Bethany Milton, she should also be given a medal of political conscience.
33
@UC Graduate
Any federal employee who resigned from this administration as a matter of principle ought to be offered a leadership position under the next administration. They are exactly the right people to represent our country.
7
Even if Trump is defeated in 2020, it is going to take decades to repair the damage he’s done to our country in just over two-and-a-half years.
43
@LIChef I went to a lecture by Ambassador wWlliam Burns who write 'The Back Channel'. It is about the decline of diplomacy in this time in history—just as you point out. Ambassador Burns spent 33 years in the Foreign Service; the book is fascinating.
But in the last chapter as well as in his lecture, he spoke about how there are so many very qualified foreign servants who have studied the history and culture of a region and understand how to extend the hand of diplomacy—it is an Art and I am sad to see Ms.Milton leave because in reading her op-ed, she was in the mold of Ambassador Burns.
I don't know about you, but I write my Senator pretty weekly—I do hear from him and even though I know that it is computer generated, he has been a good civil servant.
Here's the plan—'trow da bum out' and then extend our hand every time that we can.
2
The unraveling has become a downward spiraling. Is it naive to hope that this means that the tide is changing?
10
I certainly respect your decision, though if you were otherwise content with a long career in the FS, and if you have managed through the past 34 months since President Trump was elected, it seems a little odd not to stick it out for the next 14 months and see if there is a different President on her or his way to the Oval Office. In all events, best of luck, you seem well-equipped to transition to a successful private sector career!
2
I thank the author for her service to the nation in the state department. And I understand why she left.
I have a comment which may not have been mentioned previously (I have not read all the comments.) The Trump administration's determination to drive out good federal employees is not new. Every Republican administration since Reagan has done the same thing. A family member had the misfortune to serve in a cultural/educational agency in the Reagan administration headed by GOP political appointees who drove out good non-partisan civil servants. Trump is more extreme in this as in everything else. But he is doing what other Republican administrations have done. The Republican Party simply hates good government and tries to destroy it by driving out good people.
41
A loss to the Department and the country, with honour.
24
I feel incredibly sad, reading your column, but also incredibly hopeful as you did the right thing and then spoke up about it! Thank you! Keep talking!
39
"Taking with them ground level expertise". That is a statement that is truly scary. It's the people that run the day to day functions of government (and business as well) that keep everything going and make things happen. How many competent people in government can we lose before there is nowhere to turn?
36
This column is great for demonstrating how a tough decision to no longer continuing to be complicit can be made, even at a likely significant loss.
19
I want to thank Ms. Milton for her years of public service and that of her colleagues. In times like these, it is a difficult and personal decision whether to stay and try to hold things together or leave due to the toll that disagreement with current policy takes on federal employees. I know my father, and those he supervised, faced this dilemma when working for the DoD during the Viet Nam war. The world had turned upside down since his first government job at Hickam field in Honolulu, where he was on December 7 1941. Ultimately, the personal toll was too great and he left. But, I appreciate those who are trying to do good work within the current administration and do not blame them for policies over which they have no control. Unfortunately, it may take decades for federal departments like State to rebuild an experienced workforce after this administration.
24
I agree with others who say thank you for your service. I, too, was a Foreign Service Officer. But I was privileged to serve a president who made me proud to be an American. I cannot imagine what personal sacrifice it must take to represent - to be the face of - a corrupt, treasonous administration. Still, and in spite of the degeneration at the top, I cannot help but believe that there are those in the trenches (as I was) who are still working with courage, honor, and love of country. And upon those we will place our hope. I commend you for speaking out and for turning your back on cruelty and hate. May you find other fulfilling work, and may God grant strength to those who remain.
56
Bethany, thank you for your service. I so hope that you can go back to the State Department someday under a kind and intelligent administration. Until then, polish the resume, work hard, and keep the faith.
26
How poignant, how sad! Yes, hopefully our democracy wiil endure and the Trump mindless wrecking crew will pass from the scene. How long, however, will it take to recover from the loss of dedicated and knowledgeable public servants like Bethany Milton. How long will it take to recover any position of global leadership and respect after the wrecking crew finishes its work.
Thank you for your dedication and courage, Bethany. Our country will miss you.
21
While you were stationed in India, you processed many family reunifications for elderly Indians to be admitted as dependents for their wealthy American family members. The sponsors promised to be responsible for the support of their elderly parents, many of whom were wealthy in their own right or who had wealthy children in India who were legally responsible for their care.
Those wealthy Indian elders were immediately eligible for Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers. They got on the waiting list for housing vouchers while they paid minimal rent in housing owned by family members and once they got their vouchers, the rent went up at taxpayer expense.
How many visas did you process for the poor untouchables of India. Did you ever even meet one? Immigration to the US for the wealthy elderly is not a positive for the American economy, but you facilitated it.
That was a position you supported.
You also supported approving refugee status for the wealthy oligarchs whose governments had been overthrown for corruption. The Omar family would fit into that category: wealthy government officials who fled to Kenya after Somalia changed control. It's not like Somalia was a thriving democracy under the governance of the Omar family. The ruling class did lose some of their wealth, and had to languish in Kenya for four years. Poor Somalians are still in Somalia.
4
@ebmem
As an immigrant from India that actually sponsored an 80 year old Parent from India : USA does not permit Green Card holders to apply for any benefits (other than Emergency Medicaid, which reimburses Emergency Rooms only for life saving medical care they are required to provide to everyone) during the the first 5 years in USA. Even after that, no-one that is wealthy is supposed to qualify for any benefits, regardless of whether they are immigrants or born in USA. A notable anomaly is that Obamacare subsidies ARE available even during the first 5 years, but most sponsored immigrants who live with their well-to-do children would not qualify since it is based on household income, though some probably lie and only include their own income.
16
@ebmem
Why would dependents of wealthy Americans need to apply for any public assistance? I am not sure I understand your logic? Perhaps you are unaware that the Medicare eligibility criteria for any legal permanent resident is that the person or spouse must have worked in the US and paid Medicare taxes for minimum 40 quarters.
2
@Thomas Anantharaman Thank you. Chain migration the target of some negative comments posted here. Ask Donny - he knows all about it.
Ms. Milton,
I applaud your sense of duty, honor and morality and acted on that final 15 seconds of your training. It's a shame that it came to that because you probably went in knowing that at some point that you would serve a different President, a different administration with different objectives. But you probably never dreamed it would be it like this, even on your worst days.
I too hope that we return to sanity with the 2020 election, but nothing is certain. I also hope that anyone replacing you isn't an incompetent hack political appointee that manages to further tarnish our country like the current administration has.
Good luck with your next stage in life
13
Thank you for your integrity and for serving the nation. What you describe here will be to our everlasting shame.
17
It seems that a large portion of this country is supporting the POTUS simply because they are diehard Republicans. I hope, before Nov. 2020, Trump supporters begin to realize that his statements and his tweets are not actual "Republican policies" but self-serving attention grabs. Our country is better than that. If only people stopped feeling threatened by the bully at the helm and stood up to what this country truly represents: a democracy.
16
@ActualScience Well said. We are a Democratic Republic imbued with Separation of Powers. Our forefathers knew their history and were well aware of the consistent failures of prior pure Democracies. Bottom line, we are a nation of immigrants. We are a melting pot - always have been. It works.
4
Do we still Have a State Department?
I just watched Trump engage in a Trade war with China using Twitter, Campaign rallies, & Helicopter Press conferences.
poor Donald! Has to do all the heavy lifting by himself.
My wife just asked me why the annual joint exercise in the Republic of Korea hasn't been cancelled since that's what Trump wanted.
I said first of all it was contracted for and organized a year ago so too late to stop.
Also Trump has no idea on how to use his own Government,
There's something called the Chain of Command that works when you're running a really big enterprise. If he really wanted to stop this year's exercise last year, he needed to go to the Pentagon and request to Secretary of Defense to secretary of the Army, to the CG, USFK, to the CG EUSA etc.
Instead he throws out a tweet "Jump Ball" and surprised when nothing happens.
But since he will forget what he ordered in a few days, what's the difference.
Nobody is in charge of the USA anymore.
16
When a diplomat joins the State Department, she sits through two presentations... The other is a much shorter presentation, one that lasts all of 15 seconds: “The day you can no longer publicly support your administration’s policies is the day you need to resign.”
That sums it up. It's the conversation that I and others have had with persons considering a life in foreign service. It is always a deeply personal decision. I salute Bethany Milton for her decision and the obvious deep reflection that led to it.
16
It never ceases to amaze me why so many people want to emigrate to the US, when they will be discriminated agaunst when they get here and have to suffer appalling employment conditions (low wages, lack of benefits, etc.) They would be much better off emigrating to other developed nations in Europe, to Canada or to Australia. To be sure, they would not all be accepted , but to start off by trying to get into the country that would treat you the least well is the opposite of common sense.
16
@Sceptic99
You make many excellent points. And also: I am amazed that anyone in the world wants to come here and face our out of control gun culture.
5
@Sceptic99
Because Europe and Canada don't take in as many people as the USA. Besides most of the people, I know who came here want to stay. That's the problem with trying to figure things out, you think you know but how can you when you're not exposed to the real world?
1
@Sceptic99. Re Australia it is tough to get in and likely to get even tougher in the next few years.
This heartfelt essay should have appeared in the Wall St. Journal.
Here, it is just preaching to the choir.
45
What a moving letter. It is so helpful to know that the impression from the front lines corresponds to what we observe back home. So tragic to have committed individuals leaving the State Department, I hope that they may return in a later administration.
24
Thank you for your service. Most people don't realize that FSOs put themselves at risk as much as service men and women, usually a lower risk but at-risk for years at time, in dangerous and unpleasant countries. FSOs who reach the rank of Ambassador aren't sent to The Court of St. James, France, Germany, or Australia, but to difficult and dangerous posts, where their well-honed skills and expertise are vital.
40+ years ago, I passed the FS exam (with the minimum grade) and did not get through the 2nd round. I was young, and naive, but the 3 FSOs I met, were as different as night and day, yet were all focused, talented, organized, and highly intelligent people, and I was, even in my naivite and disappointment, incredibly impressed.
When we hear politicians, including a President, and especially this President, dismiss and belittle the Foreign Service Officers, I am deeply disturbed because I recognize that they, of our our public servants, are the best of the best.
If I remember correctly, we have Charles Evans Hughes to thank for that, who, under Harding(!), worked to move the Foreign Service from the Jacksonian "Spoils" system to a professional service. Hughes used to say that he, the Secretary of State, needed to be the only politician in the Department, and even he wasn't a very good one at that!
I am sorry you have to leave but it is not your fault. Sadly, you have made the right decision because there is no guarantee that 17 months from now, normalcy will return.
33
Of course most of us (?) who oppose this administration and all its inanities want people like Ms Milton to stay: someone will have to pick up the pieces once they are gone; and I'd like to think that there are some voices of sanity who remain. But you gotta do what you gotta do . . .
Having said that, I wish this administration and this president would return to the notion put forward in the Constitution, and that's why it's called an Administration and why it's not the first article. It administers: congress decides that there should be a 10% duty on imported ax handles and the Administration figures out how to collect the money, how to minimize smuggling to avoid taxation, and how to pay the excise folk.
8
Actually, "send her back" involved 3 members of Congress who were born in the US to parents who were American citizens. If we are revoking native citizenship, can we start with Donald Trump?
33
@Cfiverson
Has he ever shown his birth certificate or will we see that when he shares his income taxes?
1
I wonder what my parents {the greatest generation) would have said about the state of our country. I think they would be appalled.
21
@Soo ,My Mum is part of the 'greatest generation' and like her friends of the same age; they all voted for trump.
My 95 year old mom is smarter than that. She didn't let her body getting old and tired extend to her mind. God bless you, Mom.
2
What can we do? I am on autopay with the ACLU and an immigrant legal aid organization. My senators and representative are Democrats and consistently reject compromising with evil. But I feel outmanned by McConnell's clear intention of allowing the Russians to subvert the 2020 election. Will getting Democrats to vote in droves be enough to counter this subversion, and also the recent unmooring of the electoral college votes from the statewide popular vote? (Electors can now vote for whomever they want to.) Going to street protests doesn't feel effective to me.
21
@Kat
Elector have always been able to vote for whomever they wanted, although one state (don't recall which one right now) insisted in the past election that an elector could not and replaced that individual. Read the US Constitution and you will find that it does not bind the electors in any way. Over the decades quite a few have done as they felt was best regardless of what the voters said. Of course, following the popular vote would negate that option.
4
@Kat There is a long history of faithless electors, which is the term we use for electors that don't vote as they were assigned. One more reason for reforming the electoral college in some fashion. I would support making all states divide their electoral apportionment in relationship to popular vote (small states would still maintain an advantage, since every state receives two electors for their two senators). Winner-takes-all has skewed the results in ways that don't really represent the population or its distribution fairly.
4
Colorado, I believe.
2
This is a country where policy is decided by citizens not 'values'. American values are defined by citizens today- not on the feelings beaurocrats hold about history. Democracy is government by the people not government by feelings. It is sad when people are denied entry into the United States it is more sad to see our entire way of life being destroyed because 'feelings' and 'The Statue of Liberty.'. The emotional blackmail has got to end. Every human being is worthy of coming here so there is no logical end. It will all come crashing down soon enough because of climate change.
4
@willt26
Your point seems to be that we shouldn't put our hopes in U.S. ideals. But, that's the only hope we have.
1
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. It is enlightening and terrifying to read at the same time. Trump has destroyed our country, but he is not alone. All the Republicans who enable him are just as guilty for destroying this country. I hope we can survive until the next election.
89
@Laura Reich
The country has not been destroyed....it is alive and well and thriving.....The Trumpster is unlikable, but his policies are productive...there is a difference between good policies and likable personalities
You mis-typed - you meant Trump's policies are destructive, not productive. They are productive like a productive cough, bringing up blood and phlem.
1
The world looks on in horror at the fact that the US senate has allowed a malignant, compromised narcissist wield his chaos unchecked. We are diminished as a nation because we fail to hold him accountable not because of what he does.
118
Bravo, and welcome back. WE ARE in the majority, and must show up in 2020 election to change course. (Vote Democrat -- any Democrat.)
55
I'm of immigrant blood. My ancestors were from Poland and Austria. Many generations they passed through Ellis Island. The descendents of the 12 million individuals that entered the United States through Ellis Island now total over 100 million. God only knows how many other immigrants were welcomed into the United States through other ports, Chicago, ports on the West Coast. We should never forget that America is jigsaw puzzle constructed from immigrant DNA. Immigrant blood flows through the arteries and veins of many Americans. Immigrant wishes, hopes and dreams made America Great. Dreams for a chance to live a safe life free from the midnight knock on the door, the government sponsored murders and rapes perpetrated on them by their birth country. Citizens that were deemed below some ill conceived, preset standard that was set by know nothing autocrats. These people fought WW's 1 and 2. The fought in the Korean War and Vietnam. They helped America become a nuclear power. They designed and built our skyscrapers and tunnels, the bridges, hospitals and schools, The railways and jets we travel on and possibly the houses we live in. They are the backbone of America. How can the GOP allow and support Trump in his actions against immigrants. Instead of building a wall of exclusion we should be constructing bridges of friendship. I ask you fellow readers, what has happened to the soul of America?
45
@Richard
Trump still welcomes immigrants from Norway, instead of the sh__hole countries.
Unfortunately, there are more immigrants from the USA to Norway than vice versa.
7
Thank you Richard. You are so right. The United States is a country primarily of immigrants and the descendants of immigrants. God bless the diversity and all the benefits of this diversity.
4
@Richard Very well stated.
Totally instructive of the thoughts we should be having. That everyone should be having.
I want to continue to be proud to be an American, however it is increasingly difficult when you read what the Author, many commentators and you are saying.
Vote people! Vote!
3
I respect everything about this article, except for Ms. Milton staying on for 2 years doing Trump's dirty work. That's a long time and a lot of damage done in the name of Trump and America. I wouldn't have lasted a day working for the vile, inhumane, anti-constitutional Trump.
9
Thank you for your letter and service. I only hope that "Donny, the Lying King" antics do not tarnish the USA forever. Selfless Service vs Selfish Service.
21
Thank you, thank you, thank you....for all you have done and all you have said. I hope there are more like you in the government with a conscious...
26
What a shame that someone like you, with such valuable experience, has to quit. But it is easy to see how a person with ethics could not work for this administration. I hope this all ends soon - and when it does, we will need to rebuild the experience and institutional memory that leaves with you and others like you. What a waste of time and talent this exodus reflects!
32
Thank you for writing this, for your integrity, and for the New York Times publishing it.
23
The foreign service used to be closed to anyone who wasn't a white Christian who had attended the "right" schools. Today, it attracts principled idealists like yourself who understandably break under the chaos, arbitrariness and wrongheadedness of this horrible administration. While I respect your decision, your place will likely be taken by someone who either agrees with Trump or a careerist who doesn't care.
11
“The day you can no longer publicly support your administration’s policies is the day you need to resign.”
If only more leaders of the president's party had gotten the same training.
21
Beautifully written, thank you!
23
Thank you for your government service. But how many more resignations letters is the NYT going to publish from departing DOS career employees? How about publishing some articles from whistleblowers still working for other federal agencies who are valiantly confronting/challenging malfeasance by this corrupt administration? And why can’t Congress do more to hold Trump and his criminal cohorts accountable for the nonstop fleecing of America?
9
My father, a World War II veteran, was a career foreign service officer. I am so grateful he died before this administration. He would just die all over again.
27
@December
True -so many honorable and ethical people are rolling over in their resting places.
3
What a sad - no, dire - comment, when lifetime public servants can no longer serve with anything resembling a clear conscience.
15
@Nathaniel Brown Sadly there are thousands more who feel the same way, but aren't in a position to resign. We're not even in a position to tell people what's going on. We've seen and felt the painful lashes when someone tries to speak up.
It wasn't long ago that we stood in food lines during the shutdown. We are not complicit. We are in traumatized survival mode.
4
Wow. What a stark contrast to the cowardly piece by "anonymous," who chose to stay. Cowardly not because they stayed, but because they were anonymous.
Bethany Milton is what it means to be American.
16
Bravissima!
Thank you for your service. Thank you for your example
of integrity.....Too rare a sight....
20
Hurrah you. Wish our senators and some congresspeople as well as others who have the skills to critically think about the abomination that occupies the WH and his minions and what they are doing to our reputation as a country.
13
The sentiment that Ms. Milton expresses are duplicated throughout the federal government and also extends to members of the military and government contractors. This "outflux" of talented people is nothing less than a full scale Brain Drain. We are paying for it today, and we will surely pay for it in the future.
12
Sorry. You used the wrong word. “Promise” should be replaced with “hope”.
1
The administration is insane. Thank you for speaking out and taking a stand.
16
Brava. Thank you.
8
And so say all of us
7
Trump was inflicted on this nation by a corrupted electoral process. The shameless Republican Party leadership including Moscow Mitch, has not only undermined our democracy through gerrymandering and voter suppression, they have also undermined the global role of the United States in every way.
The disgrace that Trump brings to our nation is unbearable. Only a massive voter rejection of Trump and his Republican lackeys can save our country from further descent into the fetid Trumpian abyss.
20
"[T]here is no inherent shame or honor in choosing to work for this administration or not."
Nope. Sorry. It is shameful. I give you credit for dissenting and leaving, but don't try to paint the enabling of an unhinged, deranged malignant narcissist as anything resembling "honor."
4
@Ann But what if you know the person who replaces you will make matters much worse? Or if you know that forcing out people with integrity and skill is exactly what the administration is hoping to accomplish? I am a scientist at the EPA, and I assure you the decision is not as Manichean as you present it in your comment.
2
This country ceased to be a democracy long ago. And elections? Please. It was "elections" that gave us this maniac as President.
4
"He’s rarely thinking about me, the white American-born daughter of two American-born citizens."
I think maybe you are underestimating how far and wide his misogany extends.
7
Thank you and good luck.
6
I admire your integrity -- so few have it to the point of making a statement like yours.
6
We need to get you back and then under a Democratic president, send you back to do what you do best.
6
I shudder to think about who might be replacing those who have resigned. Religious crackpots comes to mind.
Seriously. What person of quality would want to be associated with this highly dysfunctional and racist administration?
7
Many of our departments and agencies will require a de-Trumpification that will take years to accomplish. In many cases, Trump imposed a leadership designed to bend the organization to defend, protect, and enable Trump's instincts. Witness the EPA opposing measures on climate change, CFPB backing payday lenders, Dept. of Education covering up for for-profit schools, and the Dept of the Interior selling public lands. In the national security field, Trump has gutted the Dept. of State and tried to politicize the Intel Community to buttress his policies on Russia, North Korea, and Iran. And I haven't even mentioned making DOJ into his one-client law. Further, where JFK and others raised public service to be the highest honor, Trump has bad-mouthed civil servants, caused them to go without pay for a month, and thwarted their idealism by subverting their mission. The departure of so many officials will leave an experience gap that will take years to fill even with the good will of future administrations.
21
@Edward Bash
JFK lowered the top tax rate. He put us on a path to put a man on the moon. He famously asked, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
He would be a pariah in today's Democrat party for failing to endorse abortion on demand of viable fetuses and for his womanizing. Not to mention his incursion into Vietnam and belief in the domino effect. Or the missile crisis. [Obama allowed Putin the invade Georgia and Ukraine with no action. Obama allowed Putin to cheat on SALT. JFK risked nuclear war to get the USSR to back down.]
The EPA under Trump issued regulations to reduce CO2 production from coal fired plants that conforms to the Clean Air Act. Obama was only able to attempt to impose autocratic rules that violated the law. Trump has done more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than Obama. You do not approve of a return to the rule of law. What you are not aware of is that dictators like Obama are benevolent until they are not. At which point it's too late to control them.
Trump and Republicans have clawed back the power of the executive branch, which infuriates Democrats because they only way they advance their agenda is through dictatorship.
Bill Clinton received $1 million per year as a board of director for a for-profit school so they could use his full sized photo as a recruiting tool. He resigned when Hillary was preparing her campaign plans and for-profit schools had been identified as evil.
I spent thirty-two years working for the FBI and would from time to time have to interact with the State Department and its personnel. I’ve always admired and respected Foreign Service Officers, and this admiration predates my Bureau career.
After reading this I’m glad to see my respect and admiration haven’t been misplaced.
59
@John
While you worked for the FBI, did the executive branch ever assign you to spying on the political opposition, using a dossier purchased by the DNC from Russian and British foreigners?
Did the executive branch require you to shut down your investigation of Uranium One for tax evasion and money laundering so that the president and secretary of state approve its sale to Russian oligarchs who had paid Bill Clinton $1 million in speaking fees [for two one hour speeches] along with pledging billions to the Clinton Foundation?
Did the executive branch ever shut down a joint operation with the Mexican government of Mexican/Iranian drug cartels because the Iranian government requested it.
Did the executive branch ever shut down investigations of the Clinton Foundation in NY and Arkansas or deny you subpoena ability in an investigation because the subjects of interest were politically protected?
Did you work on the Fast and Furious project that lost track of thousands of guns that were subsequently used to kill American law enforcement personnel? Where was your criticism when Holder refused to testify to Congress and was held in contempt?
The FBI and State Department grew into politicized vehicles of corruption while you were not paying attention. Although there are doubtless many honorable employees, the leadership grew to be irrevocably corrupt.
People like you and Bethany became the witless pawns of the leadership.
1
Thank you for your service and dedication to the United States of America.
38
What a sad situation that a country built from immigrants' work, their excitement to be a part of a free country even when they met with discrimination and hatred in many cases and their willingness to serve their country in the military is now losing not only that talent but also the skills and expertise of people such as Ms Milton. Hopefully, federal government workers such as Ms Milton will be willing to return to serving their country when the current administration is voted out.
18
@Kathie
it might be useful to point out that those who entered legally are welcome, even if the rules that gave them preference are obsolete and in need of legislative adaptation.
Trump is opposed to illegal immigration.
The Democrat narrative that Trump's behavior is racist is based on the Democrat belief that illegal aliens are overwhelmingly not white, which is how they conclude that being opposed to illegal aliens is racist.
The idea that if you couldn't support the policies of the administration you should resign may have made sense in the past, but this is not a normal administration. For starters, there are and have been many people around Trump who have tried to rein in his worst impulses and who have refused to carry out his orders. Others are covering up for him, trying to make his nonsensical statements seem rational -- I'm not sure how to classify that.. is it subversion of his will or loyalty? The Mueller report documents some of these, others have been apparent in the press.
So I don't think that "rule" is operative any more. Do what you have to do, that's what I think. If you stay inside and try to minimize the damage, however you can, that's a useful service. If you feel you have to leave, that's fine too.
One thing to be worried about in agencies other than the diplomatic services, however, is that the Trump Administration will backfill non-political jobs with folks who adhere to their worldview. And guess what, I doubt they will leave when the administration changes. Just a hunch.
11
@Thomas
Bethany was not being asked to do anything that violated her principles. She spent eight years as a State Department bureaucrat, a glorified clerk, who reviewed and approved visas for immigration to the US. She had a checklist. If the prospective immigrant met all of the requirements, they got a visa. If not, they could either remedy the deficiencies or not be allowed to immigrate.
When Trump became president, State issued a new checklist that delayed the entry of people who would have passed the day before and would potentially create permanent barriers to entry for citizens from countries hostile to America and for whom it was virtually impossible to distinguish between individuals hostile to America and those who were not. Her job was unchanged except for the fact that there were fewer applicants likely to be approved.
She, with her eight years of clerical service, disagreed with the policy change and availed herself of State's internal dissent process. Someone in the dark state published her dissent and her career in the State Department was essentially over. Although Democrat politicians loved her, no future Democrat president would ever trust her. Everyone in the world loves a whistleblower, but no one actually wants to hire him.
It has taken her two and a half years to get a new job, working for a Democrat politician, and the entrance ticket is to write an essay criticizing Trump.
The president gets to establish policy, not a Foreign Service Clerk.
1
Two plus years into this horror show of Trump's it would be interesting to see how many more federal employees have departed due to Trump and his insanity and in their departure the institutional knowledge departs along with that employee.
There are many who believe the federal employee is lazy, overpaid, does little, and the employees are just bureaucrats.
Well, keep thinking that when you are in need of assistance of a federal office, or in the case of Ms. Milton, in need of assistance from an embassy and find that due to staffing shortages, the wait time will not be measured in hours but in days.
When I read these stories about the drain of experienced scientists, engineers, transportation specialists and medical professionals, and other skills, I fear for our country as these persons, former employees, helped protect or enhance our lives in this country.
But, I suppose Trump, et al, knows best on how to run the government with few knowledgable employees. After all, he did state "I alone can fix it".
Let us see how that turns out.
21
@Dan
Experienced scientists, engineers, transportation specialists, medical and other professionals who provide value easily find employment in the private sector and academia. Leaving government service by them does no in any way diminish their value to American society. Historically, many retire with their government pensions and then sell back their expertise as highly paid consultants.
The "brain drain" you fear comes at a convenient time. Baby boomers are retiring at record rates. Many of them have been retired on the job for years, waiting to maximize their pensions and are actually lazy, overpaid, obsolete bureaucrats. Their departures are making way for more productive subordinates to be promoted and then backfilled with new workers. Win-win. Life is change and no one is unreplaceable.
Skilled professionals impart their institutional knowledge to their co-workers and subordinates, they don't keep it secret to retain power or keep their jobs despite incompetence.
Bethany has given up her role as a bureaucrat. You should be happy that she has moved on to the more productive effort to elect Democrats rather than approving visas. Her absence as a visa approver may reduce the number of visas issued to potential immigrants, but it wasn't her job to get you a new passport if you lost it abroad, so her new career won't inconvenience Americans.
Good for you! but we are not a democracy -- we are a republic -- our votes often do not count! (as in the crucial election for the president.)
So far as abused people --- we have plenty here all across the USA -- and many want to be in large East Coast cities but can't get here -- jobs, money. There are endless people I feel sorry for - the people begging on the street I don't give money to. The people I do give money to.
No easy answers... but self-indulgence in terms of reproduction has got to stop!
1
@Auntie Mame
NYC and NYS have the most corrupt governments in the country, which is why, according to the NYT, it costs seven times as much to build a mile of new subway in NYC as it does in Paris, France. It took foresight on the part of our forefathers to deny the corruption of single states with high populations the power to dictate to the rest of the country.
Trump received a plurality in 30 states that contain 56% of the population. Hillary received a plurality in 20 states plus DC that contain 44% of the population. You are still resentful that her minority popular vote of 48% was insufficient for her to be elected. Your vote counted, but your preferred candidate lost anyway. Get over it.
We are a democratic republic. The white leftists in Vermont get the same two senators as the diverse population of Texas.
I feel sorry for the many human beings looking for hope in a country founded on freedom will no longer be able to find a process thought civil servants like Bethany Milton.
I can only imagine how the anger that so many Americans feel because we feel the shame that this Administration has bestowed on our country. I can try to deny 'that he is not my President' but until we use the democratic process of voting to show our humanity, Ms Milton's heartfelt article will be in vain.
Please, please vote…
32
There are billions of crime and violence victims in the world, and more billions of people living in poverty. All want to come here, Europe, Canada, or Australia. How many can the western world accommodate without destroying its own environment, culture, and quality of life? Is it fair to ask western countries to undergo massive cultural changes? How would third world citizens feel if tens of millions of westerners arrived in their countries, bringing with them cultures often incompatible with their own?
Population growth, massive environmental degradation, and climate change will soon turn the current flood of migrants into a tsunami. The West will face terrible decisions; too many shipwreck survivors sink the lifeboat. We better get serious about those decisions now, while there is still a little time to decide on realistic immigration policies before the global calamity really hits.
2
@Someone else
Ms Milton served this country in a capacity which I would hope that you understood as an American. How convenient for you to hide behind the problems that we are facing so as to be able to deny to accommodate those who are seeking refuge.
Why aren't these environmental (I believe that President Trump addressed them as niche problems when brought up by President Macron)problems being supported by the legislators to help all the aforementioned problems that you cite—we cut funding for the sciences, for education. This country of bounty has a lot of very smart, smart people—check out the science section of the NYTimes. For example, it has a really fascinating article on how they have made headway into finding solutions for batteries.
Here ya go: https://nyti.ms/2P8YVZt
I'm in—is this a way to deal with not being reliant on fossil fuels or cutting back on lithium batteries? Give these brilliant minds funding and not Epstein or Koch money.
14
@Someone else We and other industrialized nations caused climate change and much of the political instability throughout the world through our policies. So, yes, it is fair that we should have to accommodate refugees who are suffering because of our actions.
4
@Someone else
American law enforcement is incapable of providing 100% protection for Americans who are the victims of domestic violence or rape. We probably do better than poorer countries.
Except in the rare circumstances where a woman is being persecuted by her government, how is being the victim of domestic violence or rape grounds for granting refugee status?
It takes considerable courage either to leave or to stay in. There is a point, though, where the logic of ‘I was only following orders’ doesn’t cut it. So far, no other country or coalition has had to step in and root out American criminals, and we don’t even punish our few military murderers. However, every loss of a competent, motivated professional from State, or the EPA or federal science agencies, or law enforcement... a growing population, every loss costs this country time, money and effectiveness. Given that the trump excursion has frozen the US out of world economic and social development, as well as possibly hastened irrecoverable climate disaster, losing even one more person like the author is tragic; one more step backward.
I sincerely hope that the offset is energy and work toward restoring the promise and value we all believe is the great good of our democracy.
14
@Marat1784,
But, WE have to take responsibility—just as we saw and heard Mr. Park, another Foreign Servant, step down about a week ago.
They serve at the behest of the President…this was a brave move (she gave up a lot)and her op-ed is even braver.
Write to your Senators even if they are Republican—they are starting to smell the fire in the kitchen and I am not sure that there will be many who back this President and his Administration…but, the power is in the people and we should commission our reps to do our bidding.
3
@Catherine
You assume that Bethany gave up a lot without knowing whether her new job as a paid political operative pays better than her old job as a civil servant.
Your word choice is interesting. You view Chuck Park as a foreign servant. So much the better for him to be off the federal payroll. Just like we're better off with Bill and Hillary off the federal payroll since they were working for personal gain for foreign interests.
Why hasn't Chuck also reported where his new job is?
Thank you for speaking out about the travesty this misadministration has made out of our democracy. I hope all of those anti "big government" advocates now see how hollow that platform is and that we need government at all levels, no matter how "big," to help run this country as smoothly as possible while respecting everyone's rights.
36
Thank you for your service. This is all so incredibly sad and painful.
56
A very well written and sad article. I wish Ms. Milton all the best with her next career.
76
Thank you for your service. I have to say that I am among those who believe the family reunification visa system has been abused in many ways; elderly parents who come here and go on our welfare system, and one noted person who was responsible for a chain of migration that added 94 people from just one converted H1B arrival. I think it would be much more fair to limit reunification to spouses and MINOR children. It would give a wider swath of people the chance to come and actually WORK here. I am sorry you have had to make the decision to leave but I applaud that too. I just hope that when we get a new non GOP president people like you reconsider service again
8
I believe she has worked for (happily) GOP administrations before. I don’t think that was the problem.
12
Regardless of what a law might say or its intent, there are always going to be persons who abuse the system to their own benefit. But in most instances, the good done by these laws far outweighs the cost of the abuses. I think you appreciate the good our country can do for people by suggesting a way to cure what you see as a defect. It's too bad the current administration has no interest in pursuing such a path.
6
@Franklin Seriously? I think the multiple millions of dollars undocumented workers pay into American social services programs that they will NEVER use sorta offsets the "one noted person" and any "elderly parents" you mention. What do you not understand about that? Entire industries rely on undocumented workers, and they're not eligible for any benefits.
3
The evisceration of skilled and longtime State Department personnel has taken a toll on our ability to utilize diplomacy worldwide. An extra helping of injury is added by the difficulty this and future administrations face convincing equally qualified people to take a chance on becoming career Foreign Service officials. The President's ham handed approach could advise many thoughtful potential applicants to seek other more stable employment opportunities. It's the Trump double whammy, brain drain and a dearth of new brains.
28
Thank you.
It's all hands on deck to save democracy. Urgently!
We can't rely the "just-a-few-more-servings-of-big-macs-fries-and-diet-drinks" strategy to get him out of office.
14
Proof in writing. Trump is responsible for institutional brain drain. I don't blame Ms. Milton for leaving. Life is too short for bad bosses. We can talk about principle but no intelligent college graduate is looking to the State Department as a comfortable entry-level career choice right now. You can fulfill all the noble aims that come along with the job elsewhere. Your dignity will remain in better shape as a result.
Quite naturally, the employment situation begins to breakdown within the department. Without new hires coming in, the experienced hands are presented with an increasingly hostile work place. The best, those with alternatives, begin to leave as well. Now you're caught in a feedback loop. The job just keeps getting worse for those who remain. You've poisoned the well.
That's the Trump effect in a nutshell. No one who wants to work for Trump should be trusted with the job. By applying for the job, you present yourself as unqualified for the work. Otherwise, you wouldn't be applying.
25
What a biting, wonderful, essential, relevant column. It's a pity that the two people who need most to read it, Stephen Miller and Donald Trump, won't read it.
30
@Vesuviano
Trump doesn't read, except for teleprompters
4
@Vesuviano You, of course, are making a totally unwarranted assumption: can Miller or Trump even read, and if they can, do they even do it? If its not on Fox News, it's beyond their intellectual and emotional capabilities.
1
In any other organization (excepting family businesses)-- a CEO who could neither successfully hire or retain staff would be summarily dismissed.
19
@Mitch
Or get a giant incentive bonus for downsizing.
This Republican administration - dismantling the government / our democracy one employee at a time.
20
@James Johnson
Wasn't that one of Trump's campaign promises? Drain the swamp, shrink the government ?
1
Frightening to see so many hard working, patriotic and compassionate government workers abandon ship and a terrible dilemma. What is our government turning into as people like Bethany Milton are replaced by what, racists, corrupt individuals? Or maybe they are not replaced as America becomes less and less relevant to insuring peace and security in the world.
13
Ms. Milton you brought tears to my eyes this morning&almost ruined a great cup of coffee!
I didn't expect to shed so many tears over your article but you have spoken from a place in your heart of pure honesty.
In a world of fake "news", your truth stands for those of us
who silently wave Old Glory in our hearts.We will Overcome!
20
You could say the EU has a population of 740 million people and they should stop depending so heavily on the USA for its defense.
You could ask what the people of Columbia think of allowing 1 million refugees from Venezuela into their country and why their government doesn't care what it's going to do to their wages.
You can try to figure out why SK and Japan are having a sudden falling out.
You can realize Russia intelligence is working for the Chinese to destabilize the world. They've had a century of practice. And why the American press colludes with them.
You can ask while China builds infrastructure in the developing world Belgium is more worried about butterflies and exploiting their markets like they were a 19th century empire.
Maybe you should have done your job instead of making easy money condemning your boss. I'm sure you'll do well in your next position. Goodbye and good luck.
3
Would you like to have our allies build up their military so that they don’t rely on us (and don’t go along with what we decide)? Think of what you are saying.
2
@Alight
Maybe our allies should be paying their fair share of our military expense so that we can give our citizens some tax relief and they can afford thinks lke education and health care rather than begging.
1
@JoeG since you have all the answers, I suggest you entertain the idea of working for tRump. You seem highly qualified. (Sanctimonious for a start.)
5
"...a promise that we’re a democracy and that there are future elections to come..." Yes! I implore the majority who've never wanted Trump or his Republican ilk to overwhelm the efforts at voter suppression and go out to vote him and them out, out, out. Let's have no more "winners" of elections basically by default of a non-majority who vote. It's up to us to be our own rescuers, and we must at least try by supporting candidates with integrity and voting! (Have I sufficiently repeated it?)
11
The bottom line is that it an unmitigated shame that this opinion piece even needed to be written! However, it also perhaps one of the best written examples of the damage that the Trump Presidency is doing to our institutions. Not only are we losing principled professionals like Ms. Milton, but they are being replaced with people who have no sense of the true values of our Country. This is not only happening in the State Department but in every agency of the Executive Branch. The number of senior positions that Trump hasn't filled, the incompetence of those he has nominated and the number of "acting" Directors and Secretaries is intentionally doing long term and potentially permanent damage.
We can only hope that our democracy is strong enough to withstand the onslaught , and the voters smart enough to use the upcoming election cycle to rid the country of Trump and his minions.
1414
@Steve
First it was scientists and environmentalists that were forced out, now it's those with social/cultural/humanitarian interests (e.g. immigration, economics for the non-elite, health care, etc.)
128
@Steve
As far as hoping that the voters are smart enough to use the upcoming election cycle to rid the country of Trump and his minions. Don't count on it. I don't think the issue is whether the voters are "smart" enough, I think it's whether they are empathic enough. Trump voters are the moral descendants of those who defended the sale of human beings in North America beginning 400 years ago. The ethos is not: "Is it right", but "Is it right for my pocketbook?".
120
@Steve Well said! I'd add: And to promptly repair the damage done and permanently protect us from such destruction in the future. A Democratic congress could and should go a long way toward limiting future presidential power and shoring up democratic institutions.
85
It was Trump's plan to cut back on State Department and other federal positions. It is his goal to get rid of anyone who opposes him. His plan is working. By late 2020 there will be no one willing to work with or for him. He'll be a one-man show, and he alone will have to take the blame for his administration's failures.
But of course we all know he is incapable of taking any blame.
23
@Connie G
If his plan is to demonstrate that we can get by with less federal government, what better way to do it?
1
When my wife joined the State Department, we were somewhat naïve regarding the overseas life of a foreign service officer. But what we learned when we arrived at her first post in New Delhi in 2000 is that the people representing the United States in every corner of the world are rather exceptional and 100% committed.
My wife put her life in danger many times for the State Department, as do many other foreign service officer every day. These are very well educated people who have a lot of career options but they choose this job, often at a lower salary than could make if they stayed in home. My wife took a pay cut to do this work.
Yet she left State right after the last presidential election. She felt she could no longer be an “official American” holding a diplomatic passport representing the current administration.
174
I do not know the age of this author. Perhaps she is in her 30s or 40s and can see her way to a new career. When one is 50+ it is very, very difficult to leave a job and find a new one, whether alone or with dependent family. There must be a lot of people like that who stay because they don't have much of a choice and can only hope that the next election will sort it out for them.
32
I shudder at the people the Trump administration will put in your place. I suspect that knowledge and humaneness will not be the criteria by which they are selected.
19
@Rita Tamerius What do you mean “suspect?” What you foresee is a certainty.
I won't criticize Ms. Milton's choice. Clearly, it is a moral one. But, I will note that getting people out of the government who are not anti-liberal extremists, like Donald Trump, is one of his goals.
He seeks the fight. He constantly trolls liberals, or anyone who firmly believes in liberal democracy, pluralism and compassion. Whether his constant pugilism fuels an overreaction or simply gets civil servants to abandon ship, leaving behind a more anti-liberal government work force, Trump feels he wins. He wins, in other words, by sowing conflict and division. It is a tactic being used successfully around the world. And the world, I predict, will pay a dear price for that "success."
23
All the best to you Bethany! I admire your courage and integrity!
Keep up your great work - wherever it may lead you!
17
Chain migration has to end. Who will be supporting the elderly who want to spend their remaining years with their grandkids? American citizens will, no doubt.
Merit based immigration is desirable, not reuniting 60, 70 family members because that’s what they want with no regard as to whether or not they will be an asset to our country or a drain on government benefits.
4
@Olivia
Nothing is that much simple as you presented. Chain migration and related issues are well in the radar of Immigration services. You think that American foreign services affairs, going out in their respective countries and announcing to join the party in the USA.
It took 13 years to become a Naturalized citizen, This process never been easy and short.
Of course, there are always people would like to take advantage of the system, fake marriages, etc. but that is not the majority or even a percentage of the system.
7
@Olivia
I too had a moment's pause when I read about grandmothers and "matches through matrimonial sites"
But ultimately those numbers are trivial We need to look at the big picture and support legal immigration and the diversity of our nation.
Our economy will not be broken by an excess of grandmothers I am sure.
8
@Olivia: For the most part, their children will be supporting them. And we're not being deluged with senior citizens except from within, as we boomers get older.
14
Thank you for your service. You are a true patriot, Ms. Milton.
29
Thank you, Bethany.
It takes courage: To speak truth to power; to walk away from a position that provides a rewarding --financially and emotionally-- career. Courage that is sorely lacking in the halls of Congress and utterly absent in the Whitest House denizens.
May you be able and allowed to serve, in some way equally as rewarding, the needs of others, a privilege denied you by our current "leadership."
25
Thanks for your service to this country and a well written article. What scares me is not the Trump because eventually he'll be gone.As a naturalized citizen and a father of a decorated Marine Officer I'm scared of the uneducated masses supporting his ideas and chanting "send them back". They are here to stay...
35
@Ali I agree!
1
AND, thank YOU, folks at the NYT, for publishing Ms. Milton's piece and highlighting her honorable, ethical and decent behavior. I leave reading today's issue uplifted! A rare experience these days!
29
Well done, Betheny Milton. I was also a Foreign Service Officer, for 20+ years, in my case with USAID. There were maybe a few moments when I cringed about my country's top leadership, but there was never anything close to a moment when I felt I might have to resign in protest or as a matter of principle. If I were your age and serving now, I would do exactly what you have done.
57
Are we entirely 100% sure there will be future elections? I know, it sounds like a silly question based on a far-fetched notion, but I've spent the last 3 years watching things be said and done that, 4 years ago, would have been silly, far-fetched, or even insane become the norms of 2019 all while the Republicans sat around ignoring it, pretending it wasn't what everyone saw it to be or making excuses for it.
I don't think it's silly or far-fetched at all to suggest now that we aren't that far from a place where the Republicans go along with a manufactured crisis that attempts to cancel or end elections.
87
@ChrisH
Well said. I have always been wary of the GOP, which eagerly trades facts and truths for convenient fictions, lies, and exaggerations. But I never thought the day would come when the entire party would pretend that the insane is now rational, the psychotic is now normal, and that they all deserve to be re-elected because. . . . well, that's the part I haven't been able to figure out.
What I do know is that trump is coming unraveled at the seams and the Republicans are too busy pretending all is normal to notice or care anything is different.
21
and if he loses the election, even in the Electoral College, does anyone think DT will vacate 1600 Penn Ave voluntarily on or before January 20, 2021? The number of scenarios in which he has to be bodily removed (with or without Mitch McConnell et al. trying to form a human shield around him) is mindboggling. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I do fear it, and I think it is a meme that will be played to scare people into deciding that voting against him is futile.
11
@ChrisH That is why burying the MAGAheads under a vote landslide in 2020 is the best insurance against the inevitable lies about "fake election results", "rigged by China" and, well, we all know the rest by now.
The problem is that the conservative Democratic party avoids maximizing turnout, as that raises expectations that the Democrats will "do something". But conservatives believe in the status quo - currently the one before Trump - and they don't want to be burdened with such expectations.
They may not have a choice. MAGAheads have made many enemies now, all eager to to stick their electoral knife into Trumpius Caesar.
3
Thank you, Ms. Milton! You have restored my faith that there has been at least one honorable, decent, thoughtful person associated with the current administration. Presumably, there are others; I hope your decision and your article will inspire them to stand up and speak out as well. We all need to "go high," and never more so than now! Thank you again. Go in peace and prosper!
19
Thank you for doing your best, and ultimately doing the right thing. It's potentially disastrous that decent public servants like you are leaving State, but speaking and then acting on your conscience is a necessary act of defiance.
31
I never broke with President Trump. My "break" with that guy happened long before I didn't watch "The Apprentice," didn't ever once think he was interesting, honest, or a candidate for anything other than an IRS audit.
"....there is no inherent shame or honor in choosing to work for this administration or not, so long as it is a conscious choice."
Well, if and only if you can use that conscious choice at every single opportunity to proclaim the corruption and throw a wrench in the works of that hulking, sinister, ravenous machine.
Anything less is either truly unconscious,
or fundamentally unconscionable.
13
This is the damage done by Trump and his enablers, it will last long after his passing. I hope Ms Milton has a chance to go back; if she so wishes.
47
Thank you for your service. You are a true American hero. For myself and my family, Canada beckons. One by one, we are on our way to gaining citizenship.....just in case 2020 proves catastrophic and we think we need to get out. I am so sad to be ashamed of my country and embarrassed to be an American.
32
@Repat My wife and I packed up and left the U.S. in 2017, just before the inauguration. You won't regret your decision. Canada is not perfect, no country is, but its imperfections seem petty now. Last week, an independent group (True North Strong & Free Advertising Corp) put up xenophobic billboards across the country in support of the "People's Party" a conservative (read: Right Wing) group that opposes "mass immigration. Within a week, the groundswell of protest from ordinary Canadians across the country forced the owner of the billboard sites to pull them down. You will be welcomed and supported through your emigration process. You will find Canadians polite and curious about what's happening in the U.S.. You will find that attitudes vary across the country, from east to west but that in the end, a belief that what will be good for all of us is more important that what is good for just a few of us. Welcome.
16
@Meusbellum
you obviousty have work prospects and some money. From what I have read Candaa does not admit poor applicants (except rarely refugees under specific programs) and being able to speak French or English is required to become a citizen....
3
@MeusbellumIt's interesting the source who paid for those billboards is still not known.
Bethany Milton: Thank you! You are an example of having the courage of your convictions -- a quality our current national leadership knows nothing about. Carry those convictions into your next challenge. We need you...and we welcome your voice.
18
Yes, thanks, Bethany for your service to our country and willingness to speak out against trump and his minions.
Like others, who are responding to your piece, I very much hope you will be able to go back to State once trump is gone in 2020.
15
We’re a democracy? The recent ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver seems to indicate that 270 electors are free to choose who the next President is. The “People’s” vote is irrelevant.
19
"But the one thing that united almost every visa applicant I ever saw was the belief that life was going to be better in America. What a rude surprise, then, for them to face elected national leadership that targets them in such gruesome ways."
Everyone has a breaking point, and you've met yours, Ms. Milton. Frankly, you stayed longer than I would have, but you continued to serve according to your conscience.
I suspect the most important thing as a private citizen you've done so far is to write this excellent editorial. Welcome to all of us who intend to "elect new leadership" that serves all
Americans, not just the ones valued by the current administration.
35
Diplomatic knowledge and skills lie in the brains of the people on the front lines...
Damage to various departments from the Trump administration seem all to common. After such damage, the path to correcting the damage and getting back the knowledge base is always tenuous. Mistakes will be made that did not need to be made. Trump doesn't care because he is clueless as to what is happening.
11
Wouldn't it be nice if people like Ms Milton became members of a humane American government? In the present political atmosphere of fear and hatred, seasoned with the ignorance and contempt displayed by rhe President and his lackeys, the USA has become the object of international contempt and derision, no better than the Brazilian President or the scheming Boris Johnson.
Ms Milton is surely not the only decent American - please stand up and be counted. Set an example for my fellow Britons, who also seem to have renounced the higher moral ground once occupied by both British and American statesmen - come out of the closet, both east and west of the Atlantic and speak up for truth and justice, the weapons most feared by the mendacious and unjust.
15
It is clear that Trump (no surprise here) or his allies in the GOP or the isolationists (Rand et. al.) do not understand or realise that the world order as it exists today is largely an American creation. Or is it a paradigm? Anyhow, by and large, it has served the world of liberal democracies well (though, of course, the Americans have been the greater beneficiary). It hasn't been perfect (the world is still full of dictators, rogues, criminal states, etc), but it has worked to keep in check the more extreme leanings of other powers (India, China, Russia, etc.). No surprise of course that Trump would shoot himself in the foot, but where is Congress . . .
4
There is nothing wrong with a bleeding heart liberal that wants to help the world - unless the liberal chooses to take the easy path of importing the world's problems to the U.S. Bethany Milton has taken the nobel path of speaking on behalf of the people of Rwanda. “Send her back!,” to borrow a chant that Mr. Trump did not actually encourage.
Some people in government service want to help non-citizens without regard to the cost incurred by citizens. There is a balance, a time, and a place but the people voted for Mr. Trump, not some congressional gang of four or some kind hearted State Department administrator, to make the tough decisions on immigration, security, and trade.
I for one, think Mr. Trump has done well enough to deserve a second term against any of the announced contenders.
3
@Eugene Patrick Devany
We take it from your words that you don't think the "world's problems" are American problems, that you and your ancestors got here so now it's time to close the doors even though it's immigration which keeps the U.S. moving forward, that Foreign Service Officers "want to help non-citizens without regard to "the cost incurred by citizens"even though they understand clearly better than most Americans how precious America is because they see what bad government is every day of their careers all over the world.
As a former Foreign Service Officer I can assure you that most Foreign Service Officers understand immigration laws and their rationale far better than you. Congress, not the "gang of four", long ago established reasonable grounds for immigration to include asylum. To reject immigrants seeking asylum is to reject the international standards of civilized societies which have stood with America through thick and thin and now Trump supporters seem to think we don't need either allies or the good will of the rest of the world. How sad.
37
Appreciate that you think this piece is, presumably, prize-worthy (re: “Nobel path”) but weren’t the ‘Congressional gang of four’ also elected by the people in the manner that the President was (albeit for them actually by a majority of voters)?
4
@Eugene Patrick Devany You might want to correct and edit your sentence to "but the electoral college voted for Mr. Trump" . The PEOPLE (that is the popular vote) did not.
5
How sad to lose the service of someone like you. I hope you find comfort knowing how many salute your honesty, service and devotion to something bigger than yourself.
13
American history is full of periods when there was great opposition to certain immigrants. So here we are again. Trump has drummed up a lot of opposition to immigrants by spreading lies and these lies have filled right wing media. Trump said Mexico sends it worst people here. Actually Mexico doesn't send anyone here, Mexicans just come here on their own for various reasons. The US benefits greatly from all type of immigrants. Many are highly trained and play big roles in our scientific and technological society. Many start small businesses. Others work for low wages at jobs that most American don't want. They do alter the culture but generally in positive ways making the US a particularly dynamic country and this dynamism is one of the things that attracts more immigrants from traditional countries with limited freedom for individual expression.
15
Perhaps no other position than Foreign Service diplomats represent who and what we are as America. Your dedication along with so many of your community, has anguished under the Trump tantrums, lies, and self interests. Like the military who give their lives and limbs and minds to possibly die for the American Dream, they have been discarded. In their place are small minds seeking to keep their power while abrogating their oaths of office.
The Foreign Service is the most prestigious of institutions that while not on the battlefield, are on the front lines of what our democracy stands, or stood for. Perhaps when this nightmare is over, you will once again participate in public service. I sincerely hope so. You and your colleagues are the only avenue to truly restore what has been destroyed in the eyes of the world. Thank you for your courage.
11
Legions of career civil servants are leaving or have left the government, from the State Department to the EPA. This is by design, the far-right’s long-term fever dream of deconstructing the federal government block by block. Trump’s antics are not merely a catalyst for its destruction; they provide a smoke screen. While he distracts with his daily insanity, his minions are systematically destroying government agencies and dismantling their missions.
I’d like to share the author’s optimism that we will return to normal when this nest of vipers is finally eradicated, but I’m afraid that the damage will be so deep and will take so long to repair that we won’t remember what normal was.
12
Thank you, Ms. Milton.
5
Entering in 2008, the author missed the opportunity in 2003 to enthuse about the brilliant case Sec. Powell made for the U.S. military attack on Iraq, speaking to foreign diplomats who suddenly seemed extraordinarily interested the toes of their wingtips.
Well said. After being a life long Republican, I could no longer defend what the party allowed to be said by its members, starting with the total ignorance of some older white men's belief about pregnancy and rape. And it's done nothing but go downhill from there.
Party politics has failed us as a nation. The GOP will continue to support Trump. The Dems, so far, haven't put forth anyone who excites me. And both seem to be more concerned about "party first".
8
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Donald Trump's presidency is how he continually takes advantage of the integrity of public servants. All around him at every level are dedicated people carrying out their duties with honor despite their grave misgivings about this administration. Trump hurls nonstop insults at individuals (McCain, Comey, Sessions, Powell, Mueller, and many others) and departments (State, Intelligence, Military, and others), but people ignore the relentless provocation and keep toiling away. At the same time, Trump defies norms, rules, laws and basic decency, ignores briefings, council and an entire country's accumulated knowledge in favor of his own steadily changing, uninformed opinions. Still, tens of thousands of public servants work on, aware of his debilitating faults but dedicated to the country, while trump proves daily that he is dedicated only to himself. The unfairness of it gnaws at me. How can this odious man continue to get away with it?
14
How will we replace all the people through all the agencies who have been forced out? Will the next sane administration be able to get any of them back?
5
I'm sure Trump will quickly dismiss Ms. Milton as a disgruntled former employee who was "not very smart" and he'll probably denigrate her appearance while he's at it.
15
@David Rea
You forgot that Ms. Milton will be called a "nasty" person and that all of this is a "tremendous disgrace". We could insert somewhere "uge". That's Don's entire vocabulary. Yale ! did you hear that ?
1
We are definitely NOT a democracy. We do not have one person one vote. We have rule by corporations, lobbyists and bought politicians. We have an up and coming dictator in the White House and at least one party that will do nothing about it because for decades they have been aiming for tight one party rule. We have a giant propaganda system that tell us we are “free” and we are a democracy, when in reality, citizens have little sway or say in our government. Our Constitution is just this side of useless.
On the bright side, many of us are trying to combat our nation’s slippage into complete dictatorship.
7
Thank you for your dedicated service to the US. I hope that, very soon, a new administration will be recruiting you and others to rejoin the State Department and reestablish its role and reputation in the world
9
Thank you to a true patriot- unlike the gop politicians in our country who have sold their souls to the devil - trump. The evil in our beautiful country is very obvious now , good always defeats evil . Your step was one step towards that goal - of creating an America that welcomes all except the gop enablers and trump
5
Putin has done this to most Western nations.
What are WE doing about it?
4
May your awakening spread to this nation!
Given the domestic terrorism Trump has given birth to and feeds continually with his ongoing rhetoric, we brace for the next incident. It is not hard to surmise what he will do amidst growing public awareness of his condition - more attacks. This is the pattern we are now in. He has so much as already indicated that he would like to appoint himself as our permanent dictator. Would that the Senate and Congress have your backbone! The 25th Amendment needs to be invoked - for the sake of so many lives at stake.
7
We focus on the dumpster fire that is Donald Trump and we forget, Trump is the symptom of the disease, not the disease itself. Republican policy over a decade created the conditions that allowed for the monster to be borne. But Frankenstein was the creator, not the monster. The forces that gave rise to Trump and cheer his racism, isolationism, and xenophobia at his rallies will still be here after the low life is gone. How do we deal with this 35% of deplorables?
14
@William Whitaker
I don't like the term "deplorables", but I absolutely agree with your assessment that DT is a symptom and not the disease (although there seems to be a bit of a circular- feeding system there).
He is also a distraction from the awful, concrete things being done while he waves his hands and tweets idiocies.
Per my knowledge, not one of the Dems has actually tackled the base; tried to understand it and satisfy it. Try to change the mindset. Trump is criticixed in this paper, is ridiculed in every late show across the board; but then that's too easy. And that gets nowhere.
This essay should be read by every member of the Senate and House, especially Republicans.
9
Thanks for serving humanity. And thanks for speaking up. I wish more people across the breadth of our government--including those elected and appointed to their posts--would be so honest, bold and as dedicated to an ideal as you are. Courage in the face of hypocrisy, incompetence, hatred, despotism and lies is a rare commodity in government these days.
More power to you Ms Milton.
6
I applaud your decision to put your convictions in to actions. Yes, we need to Vote the Trump Administration OUT!!
9
Thank you for exercising your wise decent.
Trump has decimated the foreign service and the Department of State. His Secretaries of State have left hundreds of appointment jobs unfilled, gutting the State Department while many employees who cannot support Trump's policies have resigned.
Thomas Jefferson was the first Secretary of State. I doubt
he could have conceived of an ignoramous and bigot like Trump becoming president.
Recall President Kennedy's comment to Nobel Prize winners at a White House dinner in their honor in April 1962:
"I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.
The Department of State was once the pride of our government. It's been knocked on it's pins by the fool who's president but this country is full of intelligent, patriotic young people, some of who will choose to serve us in the State Department after this loathsome administration has been consigned to the trash heap of history
5
It is the loss of such professional foreign service officers—with their training, commitment, experience, judgement—that will be the lasting and devastating legacy of Donald Trump on America’s role in the world.
The NYTimes has often had occasion to comment on how long the divisions Trump is deliberately sowing in our society will take to heal. And rightly so. Trump is a hateful spreader of hate.
But in the global sphere, it is the decimation of the professionalism of the foreign service that will take the longest to heal. We may—one desperately hopes—replace Trump in 2020 with a new President with a genuine resonance toward global life.
But it will take decades—a generation—to train new foreign service staff to replace the wholesale destruction of our foreign presence perpetrated by this malign President. The loss is incalculable.
8
Thank-you! This is what integrity looks like!
7
The Republicans are trashing the reputation of the US as a global leader. With their WMD debacle in Iraq, climate denial, Middle East policy and this America First malarkey, our country is becoming isolationist and debasing many of the principles that we rely on to assert our global leadership. The neocons, Bannon and Miller have damaged our country’s standing and the next election would appear to be the only way for America to get back on track.
3
This administration has frightened many native born Americans with its policies. Children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, first generation citizens who are not of European descent, Americans with Spanish surnames whose ancestors were here long before America stretched from coast to coast and down to the Gulf Coast. This administration has upset the LGBTQ community, some religious communities, and the list goes on.
My ancestors came here to escape pogroms in Eastern Europe and Russia. America to them was the "goldena medina" and a place where they and their descendants would be safe. I remember a student at my college from Uganda. She wept because she couldn't return home for at least 4 years. This was when Idi Amin was in power and returning home would have meant imprisonment, death or seeing the death of her family. I recall working with a Chinese immigrant who was forced to leave her son in China as ransom. In her eyes America was the Promised Land where she and her husband could live. Once they had their green cards they brought their son over.
Trump and his xenophobic attitudes and policies are destroying that for all of us. And the GOPs support of this is worse still. They are betraying the country they swore to serve, the constituents who elected them, and the founding fathers and all who have fought to protect the country so that others could come here and find a safe haven.
8/26/2019 12:29pm
15
Bravo. Thank you for your service, your courage, and for your leadership by example. I wish you all the best in the future. This is what real patriotism looks like, as opposed to Trump-brand patriotism (i.e., cheap, flag-hugging, fake patriotism).
9
You paid a high price for your integrity, and I thank you for that. Let's hope that 2020 brings in an ethical president who will welcome you back.
12
I was a federal civil servant for 17 years. I took a hint from others and didn't vote or register to vote after I moved to Washington DC for my new job with the Defense Department. As a federal civil servant we have to work for or with whoever is elected. Not voting, not getting involved in the emotional political battles, avoiding the partisan rhetoric and propaganda enabled me to stay objective. Lots of people in the civil service don't vote, as do many national level journalists who have to stay objective in their reporting.
It's plain as day that the author of this op-ed lost her objectivity, allowed herself to be influenced, captured by the political propaganda of the day. This editorial proves and illustrates it. She should have quit. What took her so long.
1
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus
I too was in DoD, as a senior civilian executive. Although I scrupulously complied with the Hatch Act, I also registered to vote and voted for whoever I felt was the best person for the office. As it turned out, the President for part of the time was a person whose views I did not always agree with but that did not prevent me from doing what the administration put out as its policies provided my own moral compass has not assaulted. Had it been, I would have followed the same path as Ms. Milton. When DoD, State, HS, etc. have only Presidential sycophants, our democracy will be on the path to disappearing.
8
@Dave
It appears to me that a great many State Dept "civil servants" were/are sycophants for Hillary Clinton and the previous administration. That is quite obvious. It's certainly true of the reportage of the New York Times and the Washington Post. Any State Department foreign service officer who relies on either of those newspapers for an accounting of what is going on in government will receive a biased, partisan version of events. During our many weeks long employee orientation we were specifically warned, at length, to ignore the news media's invidious, biased reporting. As you should recall from your mandatory counterintelligence briefings, the greatest threats to national security for the DoD are the disgruntled employees who leak secrets to the media, not foreign spies.
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol47no1/article04.html
What was the death rate of employees at your agency? At the agency where I was employed it was quite high. Nine of my fellow civil servants just dropped dead. Here today, gone tomorrow. I doubt you read about that in the news.
Bravo and may your wish to help newly elected leadership repair the damage caused by the current occupant (sometimes) of the White House, our American Embarrassment, come true.
6
Bethany Milton sacrifices her career for the less fortunate. Meanwhile Trump is in France, lobbying for next year’s G7 to be held at his Margo A La resort in Florida in order to enrich himself.
11
Thank you so much for your honesty and for making the world a better place.
3
While in no way minimizing the author's decision, we are every day thankful for the thousands and thousands of Civil Service employees who have a fidelity to their Oath and their country which they place above the State Dept. orientation edict:
“The day you can no longer publicly support your administration’s policies is the day you need to resign.”
Thank you, loyal Americans.
3
I feel your pain. I understand why you tried to work from within and help the people you were tasked to help. I applaud your decision to leave, while I know this was a terrible thing to have to do.
Participating in the insanity of this administration is a double-edged sword. If you stay to be a professional and do your job, you are forced to support the insane and short-sighted policies of this administration . If you leave, then no one is there to try and help people that America should be helping.
Trump is nuking our ability to be the shining light on the hill we once were.
4
Thank you for making this sacrifice so you could bear witness to the truth.
4
With all due respect, the admonishment to State Department employees that "the day you can no longer publicly support your administration’s policies is the day you need to resign" is short-sighted and harmful to the country that pays the salaries of State Department employees. Presidential administrations come and go but career State Department employees are expected to serve for many years, if not decades. How does it help the State Department or the country to have talented, knowledgeable and experienced employees leave the government because an outlier (or out and out liar) like Donald Trump happens to be in the Oval Office for a term (or two, heaven forbid)? Unless employees are free to "sit out" an administration whose policies they cannot support, requiring that they quit is unfair and foolish.
7
The extent of the damage Trump and his administration have done to the country and the world will not be fully visible for at least a decade after he and his tweets are no longer daily news.
I watched (in 1970) embassy employees in Paris help a recently widowed, aged, distraught and confused French wife of a US WWII veteran deal with her US income tax forms. (I helped her fill them out while I waited for my turn to deal with my issue.) The embassy staff could not have been nicer or more helpful--and she left the consulate with all her forms completed, signed and filed.
This is one way US "soft power" is established and maintained. Trump is doing all that he can to destroy our ability as a nation to have friends and allies.
Rebuilding trust, reestablishing competence in the State Department and other government offices will take decades if it can be done at all.
Meanwhile our enthusiastic burning of fossil fuels ensures additional climate refugees, migration, and conflict, at our borders, and also disrupting other nations (and quite soon, within our own country as heat and flooding render ever larger parts of our nation's land uninhabitable).
We will need a competent State Department more than ever--but its being "Trumped".
12
There's not all bad news here, there's good news as well. You did the right thing, Ms. Milton, and you shall always be remembered
as coming out on the right side of history. No small feat in these days, yet they won't last forever. This too shall pass and we will never forget true Americans like you.
Thank you for your principles, your courage and your service.
As a dedicated public servant, you honored your country in many ways that those at the highest levels of this administration will never understand and can never achieve.
4
Thank you for your service to our country, both the last eleven years and going forward.
9
What a thoughtful and well written essay. Regardless of one's political leanings, walking away from an established career on matters of principle is an impressive and courageous act.
19
Given the never ending exodus from the WH and as an American who feels imperiled by this President I keep wondering why there are so few voices like these. Instead we get Sean Spicer on dancing with the stars. I lead a truthful life and I'm exhausted with my fellow citizens who continue to lie, obfuscate and spin on behalf of a fraud.
20
Thank you for your service, Ms. Milton, and for sharing your thoughts and insights on working for this execrable administration. I wish you all the best in the next stages of your life and career. Given the wisdom you've displayed here, I'm sure you'll find success.
35
It makes me proud to read Bethany Milton’s eye-opening piece and the many supportive responses from readers. I am proud to add my name to that list of supporters and also to applaud the NYTimes for publishing it for readers.
Please, NYTimes, do not be deterred from your mission of telling the truth despite the smear campaigns being launched by the right wing to besmirch the reputations of your outstanding and courageous reporters and columnists.
35
I'm grateful for the anonymity of these comments.
I'm from a State Dept family....over the past 30 years, various folks related to me have been stationed around the world. They're a wide bunch of characters -- cynics, idealists, patriots, rule-followers, make-own-rules, etc. They have one trait in common....they keep their opinions to themselves when dealing with whoever is in office. The best of them don't pay any attention to it....they just concentrate on the issues facing the country and continent wherever they're posted.
That all changed in 2016...at first it was subtle...a casual comment at a Thanksgiving dinner. But now it's a tsunami of despair and anger and grief and frustration and the ones who have been at it the longest are the most upset as their life's work is being dismantled.
It's beyond sad to watch and i fear for our country as these employees leave.
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Milton is clearly moving on to life as a political activist for the Democratic Party. If she couldn’t separate her politics from the job, she should have resigned day 1.
1
@QED Consider this paragraph from her essay and try to separate your comprehension of its plain language from your politics: "As a Foreign Service officer, your job is to support the administration. Without exception. Despite my personal views, I spent more than two years working to carry out the administration’s immigration and foreign policy priorities. I continued to do so until the very minute I handed in my badge and headed to the airport."
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@QED I like how you immediately assume that electing a humane government means being a Democratic activist. It's very telling.
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@QED
Clearly Ms. Milton did separate her politics from the job. That's why she kept at it as long as she did and why she stated that she served and support the policies of this administration. That is, until she could not. She tried to do her job with the big picture in mind. Your read on this focuses on her personal beliefs, which I dare say, are the ideals upon which this country was founded and flourished. Good for her and her exit along with others is sad for the rest of us.
14
Ms. Milton's resignation is symptomatic of a failing administration. Oh, and believe it or not, I don't have an ideological ax to grind, and frankly, it's not clear to me that she does either. Like me, it seems she just hopes for something consistently decent. Is that too much to ask?
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@Greg Pool
"Like me, it seems she just hopes for something consistently decent. Is that too much to ask?"
For about 40% of the population the answer seems to be that it is.
10
Thank you for your service. I think that there is so much chaos in this administration it obscures things like your point that the expertise being lost is invaluable. Government service was, prior to 2017, honorable work. I am the daughter of a federal retiree. I know no government employee gets rich. And every presidential election brings some degree of change and stress. Trump has succeeded in his plan to destroy the federal government. It will be a few more months before his followers recognize " You don't know what you've got 'till it is gone." Godspeed with your future, and for your faith that we are, so far, still a democracy.
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I don’t know that Trump wanted to destroy the federal government, as much as bend it to his personal advantage. The people he has surrounded himself with, including Steve Bannon, Newt Gingrich and Steven Miller are bent on destroying the federal government and willing to use him to do it.
The truly galling thing to me, is the fact that this administration is more than happy to utilize the resources of this government at the same time, including travel on government planes, use of government facilities and offices, protection of the Secret Service and future healthcare and pension benefits.
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I am grateful for your decisions, one to examine your conscience earnestly, make the difficult choice; and and two, writing your essay for the world to see.
Both are important if not critical in a time of huge disarray in our body politic. Important both for other Americans to witness the toll on our civil/foreign services this president's character is taking. And for the international community to see first hand how individual citizens of our country are making their own personal choices even when it hurts them.
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Ms. Milton, this was not just a brave decision, it must have been personally difficult and painful as well.
The foreign office has been seeing a mass exodus since the beginning of presidency and that is ground-level expertise that is neither easy to teach nor can be acquired by just anyone.
It requires a special set of skills, personality traits and then time, time and training.
Two close friends left high-level advisor to the Sec. of state and ambassadorial jobs in 2017.
Both said the same thing, I can keep on working but then I need to say goodbye to my core ethics and my principles. There is a limit to disingenuousness... even in diplomatic geopolitical stakes. We are not sure our country's policies reflect its people or its constitution anymore.
Listening to them then, I had hoped that maybe it was an exaggeration. Since then, every new law, executive order, twitter pronouncement, media news has confirmed my belief... they had the foresight and they didn't say enough to condemn.
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Thank you Ms. Milton for standing up for your moral, and American, principles.
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Sometimes little injustices prevent larger ones. That is a problem for the young- the young see injustice and want solutions but don't have the experience to know that sometimes you have no good choices. It is an injustice that so many foreigners are denied access to the United States. But it is a small injustice. It is certainly small compared to the injustice millions of citizens feel about policies that seem to favor outsiders more than their own children. I cannot afford to have two children but I. being asked to support millions of people and their children. Nothing for my family but not condemnation by rich people who want a wider variety of restaurants and servants. American values are a reflection of the Americans alive in the present. The values people hold today are the only ones that matter.
2
As we lurch forward, daily, into more Trump chaos, I fervently hope that our democratic system can indeed be relied upon to keep the wheels from coming off.
Yet with each day and week that passes and with the complicit Neville Chamberlain-like complicity of the GOP in Congress and with a SCOTUS that is bought and paid for, I fear that we may indeed wake up one day and find that elections have been cancelled and that Trump has made himself into a new kind of dictator.
It can happen.
31
Deportations under the Trump administration have been lower than they were under the Obama administration. Last year, we accepted about 1.2 million legal immigrants, number equal to all time highs. So why didn't the author resign when Obama was in office?
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@William Case Because what she objects to in this op-ed is Trump's twitter call for LEGAL immigrants to "go back to where they came from." Her whole career was involved with legal immigration so she finds that particularly offensive. Didn't you read the essay?
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@William Case perhaps how they were handled might have had something to do with it - ya think???
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@William Case
And how many children, born on foreign soil, died in US cages, without parental comfort present, when Obama was in charge? How many parents did Obama separate from their children? How many families to perhaps never see each other again?
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Democracies don't normally include voter suppression and partisan gerrymandering of constituencies. If America is still a democracy it is on a downward spiral and difficult for Americans to defend that democratic principles are important to its leadership and more importantly its citizens. America is a great example of the pitfalls of losing grip over the political system and we all need to pay attention.
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Bravo in multitude for your endearing State Department service to the principles that our country use to espouse and enact for all people in search of freedom from oppression.
You are not alone in your quest to make this a one-term misdirection/aberration.
Best of luck in your future endeavors.
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A Profile in Courage: Nobility is alive and well in Bethany Milton. Looking forward to your interview on fox.
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A sad story about losing one who was one of the good ones. I’m sorry you didn’t stay, although having to be so negative every day enforcing bad American policies is bound to be too much after awhile. I hope you return when we get rid of the bigots who run things now. But feel proud that you were part of the best of this country during the time when you could help others. The promise of elections and not violence in the streets is what we do offer the world. Although our patience is at the breaking point we will handle the dismissing of Mr Trump and his allies with peace.
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Thank you, Ms. Bethany Milton, for your service, honesty, decency, ethical integrity, and courage.
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@mecmec
Yes, Ms. Bethany Milton raises a witness for what constitutes the soul of America. She gives me hope and encourages fellow Americans to seek and support political leaders who see in our many the one we are.
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Ms. Milton, thank you for your service. Having invested a significant portion of my career in the Kigalis of the world, trying to help people deal with traumas visited upon them by governments we embraced, finding ways to assure individuals who sought to bring their energies and talents to the US that Canada should receive serious consideration, and dealing with the self-conceit of people who quote Greek philosophers to you in a futile attempt to legitimize an absurd monstrosity, I appreciate the dilemmas faced when you see your morally-acceptable options disappear one by one. And while I regret welcoming you to a world of struggle and toil I would rather have you as a fellow citizen and colleague than someone who suggests renounce your citizenship because your country has been hijacked. Such "sunshine patriots" would have waxed enthusiastic about the nobility of George III while my ancestors stood guard in the snow of Valley Forge but at heart are merely Tory apologists.
It is particularly unfortunate we are losing those people who 25 years from now should be providing senior institutional memory and leadership. Those of us who have been down this road hope that some of you will find roles and opportunities that help you keep alive the ethos of service, nurturing the possibility of returning to public life with a broadened perspective yet an undiminished commitment to address the public good. Let us hope the Tories decide to join their counterparts in modern Russia.
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Thank you for your years of service. And thank you for speaking out now.
Patriots must first get Trump out of our White House and then work to rebuild the federal agencies that are part of what makes our country great. In other words, we must make America great again.
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Bethany Milton merits praise for her fine public service, and for her courage in speaking out so boldly following her resignation thereby inviting the inevitable 'trollers for Trump' whirlwind. Her resigning from the State Department as a matter of conscience ought to serve as a call to every American who harbours doubts as to the cruel methods of Trump&Co. Such individuals ought to reflect carefully. Like Bethany Milton they could become part of the solution, loudly distance themselves from indefensible actions taken in their name, and at last stop making themselves a very big part of the problem.
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Your courage and integrity are admirable. This does not sound like a decision easily made. Many in public life have lost (or never had) the concept of service.
The sad part is, that the world desperately needs people like you doing your work, and I'm sure there will be a human cost to not having your knowledge, dedication, and heart at your former job. You must know that cost far better than anyone.
But the example of principled people refusing to fall in line with this hideous administration is also important, so thank you for performing that service as well. I hope we get out of his situation as a country as quickly as possible.
16
So well said. I just hope that the exodus of fair-minded government employees like Milton doesn't lead to a government staffed and run by less-qualfied and less fair-minded people.
15
I'm saddened to read this although it's understandable. It's very hard to work for people who know far less than you do about the world and seem to have no interest in learning anything. However, I commend the people who stay as well, they are the reason much of the world has been at peace for the past 7 decades and their experience is invaluable. I hope you'll come back when we get rid of the grifters selling out our country.
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On-topic, I'm not sure "As a Foreign Service officer, your job is to support the administration" is completely true. I think it's grayer than that, but disentangling gray areas requires a dialogue. A component of that should be whether there is a greater responsibility, such as to the deeper values of the country, and whether there are other options beyond the Dissent Memo and resigning.
Off-topic, for another day, if the Dem's return to office, the maximum age limit of, I believe, 59 years old for new Foreign Policy Officers should be re-visited. It seems like a relic. I could (somewhat) see an age limit for those who physically fight within the military. But within the State Department?
Further, even during the last Administration, my letters to State Department senior and middle managers, as well as the sister agency USAID, never got answered. This was rude, actually anti-Democratic, and not the way even more progressive governments should act.
There will be a lot of ground to make up for during the next Administration. Innovation is a whole other matter, but as a start some basics should be re-discovered.
Good luck in your new life Bethany.
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@Matt Polsky the limit cannot be revisited; it is mandated by Congress. Barring exceptional circumstances and a formal waiver, FSOs must retire at 65 years of age. Incoming FSOs must also be given the chance to earn tenure, which cannot happen before their third year of service and must happen by their fifth year of service. The statutory requirement that incoming officers are no older than 59.5 years of age at the time of entry, permits them ample time to become tenured before they reach the age of mandatory retirement. Those individuals over the age of 59.5 seeking to serve at the Department of State, may do so in the civil service and/or through the Consular Fellows Program.
wwe.careers.state.gov
Beth has been a wonderful officer and has served the Department with honor and integrity, from the first day she started. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.
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As we read these increasingly numbered resignation statements from our civil servants who can no longer stomach serving this administration, my sincerest hope, is that they have the willingness to return with their years of experience, when a new admin has been voted in. We are going to need them desperately to rebuild our foreign service to it's former glory. Their skills and expertise are going to be critical to repair the damage that this madman has done. I know that our allies will welcome them with open arms under a sane administration.
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@Tommy I would agree but if the Senate remains in Republican hands the President will be relegated to the same type of roadblocks that President Obama faced while trying to clean up the Bush mess. I fear that the Trump mess will be even more difficult to clean up.
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Thank you for your service. What a terrible way for you to end it, at State that is. Hopefully you will consider a return when this administration is ended. I imagine you will do some amazing work for this country in one form or another.
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An excellent piece of thought and writing. Thanks for your years of dedicated work for the country.
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I hope you are right about "future elections to come". And if so, if only the outcome would reflect the will of the majority, who have been given only the truth upon which to base their decision.
7
Thank you for your service.
Your story highlights the dilemma that a lot of federal employees must face. Do you stay on the job and do your best to mitigate the effects of policies you believe to be wrong, or do you quit in protest, knowing you will be replaced by someone who will further those policies? (Or worse, you won't be replaced at all and there will be an even deeper vacuum of power in the administration.)
It is obviously a very painful choice-- and one I don't think the rest of us should ever second-guess, since we have not been forced to face that dilemma.
So, again, thank you for your service.
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This article shows more backbone than all of Washington lawmakers have collectively. Thank you for truth and the courage to share it. Writing this letter is a first step moving forward to much needed activism on the part of those who are willing to rewrite history and remove the poison in our beloved country. I look forward to your next move. I have no doubt it will be an effective tool for those of us who need all the help we can receive. Again, thank you for your insight and forward thinking. You inspire and make me proud.
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Thank you for this Op-Ed.
You echo many of my own thoughts as a private citizen:
"What is there left to defend to foreign audiences, other than a promise that we’re a democracy and that there are future elections to come?"
It's time legislators and journalists start applying major public pressure and scrutiny to Sen. Jim Risch, our Idahoan Senator and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
His lack of leadership is appalling and disgraceful.
He has surrendered his leadership role to that of puppet and figurehead. Sen. Risch, a consistent public Trump sycophant, has sold out America for an 'atta-boy' 2020 endorsement tweet by Trump.
America deserves much better and so does Idaho.
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I support you Bethany. Sign me up to your cause. May I add that in addition to seeing to it your message is heard, I would fully support your recruiting likely candidates to serve in the future State Department.
There are so many young college grads out looking for meaningful and purposeful employment. Talk to them. Tell them there is hope after we, the people, end Trump's reign of terror.
36
As I read this article, Vaughn-Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis," came on over the radio. The juxtaposition brought tears to my eyes.
10
Thank you for writing this - and best of luck to all of us as we try to Make America Decent Again -
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Bravo! Thank you for your courage and service. Some day the Republicans and Trump will be out of the picture and we can get back to making America work once again.
29
Thank-you Bethany Milton for your service, your dissent, and subsequently your courage, and for this informative and alarming column. Albert Camus found the Myth of Sisyphus to be a paradigm of our absurdities; we search for meaning, Sisyphus rolls the rock up hill until it rolls down, and the meaningless of life, Sisyphus can do nothing to accomplish more than rock rolling. It seems we are caught in the same demoralizing absurdities with the DOJ, EPA, Department of Agriculture, and now the Department of State experiencing mass exodus of expertise at time when national threats have increased; global warming, mass migrations, more theaters of conflict, increase in nations making weapons of war, and the world economy weakening. Benjamin Franklin said in 1787, that the Constitution will work if all the citizens make it work. It will take the courage and resolve of many Americans to abandon the paradigm of Sisyphus and live by the paradigm of John Cotton's "City on a Hill". I think you put that forth in accepting a new challenge: "putting my time and energy into helping elect new leadership that serves the true interests of all Americans, regardless of where they were born."
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THIS is how a real Patriot behaves. You have my upmost respect and admiration. Thank you.
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@Phyliss Dalmatian and all the success in your new endeavors! Thank you for your career and accomplishments.
20
The same applies when you work(ed) for the Department of Homeland Security—Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I left in December, as the furlough was going on. A colleague has suggested that I could come back as the office is now facing staffing issues. There is not enough money to get me to do or say the things that management wants. I am content with my decision.
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@L. Susan Bravo! But stay tuned to return in 2020!
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@L. Susan Thank you. Just thank you.
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@L. Susan:
Sometimes the best way to clean the swamp is to leave it and never again support its swamp dwellers.
2
Thank you for your service. These are times that try each of our souls.
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Thank you Bethany Milton for your example of courage, ethics and basic decency. Let's all Americans who care about the core values of our democracy work to elect a president in 2020 who will have a State Department where you and your colleagues will clamor to come back to work!
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Thank you for your service!
I'm glad that you have written your perspective from your experiences. I'm sure so many of your clients greatly appreciated your efforts for them.
Wishing your success in your new GOAL!
50
Bethany Milton restores my pride in America. It is so refreshing and encouraging to read of individuals of integrity, inner strength, and character who serve our Nation. I solemnly pray that you will consider rejoining the ranks of our State Department when America returns to decency and its senses.
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The few that will remain until the end of the Trump administration and will become the mentors of the newcomers are most likely Trump supporters. What we may get in the first few years is a State Department that will be a mirror of Trump. That will be the saddest of all.
I don’t Senator Gellibrand, but I think she’s right. We will need Clorox in the White House and in every Department. It will take 10 or more year to undo the damage that Trump has caused. I hope American voters will learn.
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@BWCA. I beg to differ as an FSO who has dissented but is determined to stay on so what you fear/believe will happen does not happen.
10
@EC Let us hope there are many more of you out there; we will need you more than ever.
@EC
I commend you and admire you for your determination.
1
I am glad there are still officers like you who take their duties seriously and have the courage to act according to their believes.
Thank you for your service and all the best to enable "real" leadership to be elected...
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President Trump was elected by the democratic process. The joint and several states elect the President not the people of the United States. Each state is apportioned a number of votes equal to the sum of its senators and members of the House of Representatives. It has always been this way since the Constitution of the United States was enacted. It will be this way in 2020. Democrats must learn that they have to win the Electoral College, not the popular vote.
I can live with a President Biden. Why can't you live with President Trump?
8
@John Murray
She didn't say she doesn't recognize Trump as president; she said she cannot in good conscience actively work to promote his agenda.
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@John Murray that's not the point. She has a choice: stay or go. She chose to go. She still "lives with" a President Trump, as do we all. But choosing not to serve directly is exactly what she has the right to do.
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@John Murray Evidently I have too much integrity to "live with Mr Trump" And so does Ms Milton. Imagine a government employee with integrity.
51
I hope that you, and the many others who have left, will consider returning when we are again a country where to be an American does not mean belonging to a prescribed race or tribe, but to subscribing to the notion that we are all equal, regardless of where we or our ancestors came from.
176
Thank you so much for this superb essay!
I'm so grateful to read it. I grew up overseas as a child of a Foreign Service officer. I recall dinner parties with lively and powerful conversations. Much of that conversation now seems muted, as friends and colleagues prefer other ways to live out American ideals. I wish you the very best and hope to continue to learn about your voice and expertise.
54
I applaud her personal decision though I lament for the erosion of capability at the Department of State. Hopefully, a new administration will begin the slow arduous process rebuilding the institutions of government that Trump has hollowed.
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@William McGhee
I agree with you totally. I salute her brave stand on principle while at the same time encouraging similar members of the Foreign Service to hunker down, hold down the fort, keep doing the best job they can, and be there to rebuild the organization when relief arrives on Jan. 20, 2021.
23
@Marc Counterpoint: She takes a brave stand on principle but encourages others to stay to maintain continuity etc. She gets to leave but others should stay and weather the storm. Why does she get to leave and others don't/shouldn't? I'm not saying either choice is wrong - as she noted, "the day you can't .... is the day you should resign" - but it sounds like taking the easy way out while telling others not to do the same.
@Tess Oh how silly. She is not taking any easy way out, and she was very clear that each person has the right to decide where their personal line in the sand is. Not you!
10
Bravo. I'll take any chance I can to feel proud of this country, and my fellow citizens. These days, those chances seem to pop up more seldom, but reading your column made me want to clap. You make so many of us so proud, Ms. Milton. Bravo, and best of luck!
31
My only concern for the post trump era is that the hundreds if not thousands of Federal workers who left their posts, go back to government. If that doesn't happen, it will be a very slow reorganization process. This will not be good for any of us.
30
Fair enough. But if and when a new administration comes into office, will the people who resigned out of principle be rehired, or will the State Department continue to function only with those who found it tolerable to continue working under the Trump Administration.
27
@Stephen Merritt: They can apply for reappointment, but any mass exodus in the middle or top ranks is helping to clear out an over hire from about twenty years ago.
1
@Stephen Merritt The future staffing of government would more or less depend on the future president?
Ms. Milton -
Excellent piece. I wish you best in your next position.
59
The United States is more than its transitory president. The government is run by a vast bureaucracy that has its own entrenched attitudes, beliefs, rules, laws, and standards. It would take more than a president (and even a president plus congress) to change all that in four or even eight years.
6
@Paco
Were that that true! But this president is gutting so much of the knowledge base and institutional memory of the "vast bureaucracy" that it may take decades to replenish the people and who knows how long to recover the knowledge. Read Michael Lewis's "The Fifth Risk."
46
@Paco Just remember that Rick Perry is in charge of cleaning up the contaminated Hanford nuclear site and making sure nukes don't explode accidentally.
Well, actually, no, the United States is not a democracy. If it were a democracy, the candidate for president who got the most votes would become president.
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@Raised Eyebrows that's not the point of her piece. Trump is gutting many departments and the people who are leaving are taking years of institutional knowledge and experience with them. People with experience are crucial to the smooth running of any large enterprise and what is government if not a large enterprise? This administration's complete lack of business knowledge is driving experienced people out and not bringing in new people. When this happens to a business it fails.
64
So all parliamentary systems with a prime minister are not democracies?
6
Your generalizations ignore the particular policies of this administration, and the harm that they cause, immediately and directly.
Trump ran against “illegal” immigration, but it wasn’t hard to notice he never distinguished between legal and illegal immigrants when he referred to the putative problems of immigrants.
Now as president he’s done next to nothing about the problem we was supposedly exercised over, the 11 million aliens living here illegally. But he’s made life miserable for those seeking asylum, and imposed senseless hardship and worry on those legally applying for permanent residence and citizenship.
22
Hollowing out our critical diplomatic infrastructure, puts our country at a disadvantage in every aspect of international dealings.
We lose leadership roles and the ability to direct events.
More frightening is the diminished ability to keep disagreements from spiraling out of control.
Today we witnessed our allies in the G-7 attempt to fill that gap with very positive effect.
What will tomorrow bring?
Thank you for your service.
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@Robert FL
The US will be at a disadvantage for a long time, and perhaps never recover our level of diplomatic rigor, because another thing we lose is the depth of training and mentorship novice diplomatic staff receive from up and down the ranks.
If the top and middle layers of experienced elders and teachers are gone, then the entire culture of the institution has been successfully gutted.
15
Thank you!
We need more career diplomats and life-long government employees to speak out against the abuses of this administration.
As much as civil servants might love their job, they should love their country and basic human rights even more.
Whether working to imprison children and their families at the border, or speaking at national and international meetings on behalf of equally inhumane policies, people need to start speaking out. To not do so makes them equally responsible for the policies they are asked to implement and defend.
Thank you again for being one of the brave ones.
110
You piece made me cry and I deeply thank you.
Once, when I took a management course, the lesson was: support the official policies to those below, but be sure to question these policies to those above. You have gone from questioning to rejecting of gruesome policies from "above".
But, we need you in the inevitable repair that should start next year. We need you. When it is safe, please come back.
322
@Steven Lord At the very start of the reign of Trump, his closest aide, Stephen Miller, said publicly that "the president must not be questioned." Trump is simply incapable of working with anyone who might raise questions or challenge him. Trump is way too insecure and unstable to be in any position of responsibility. The GOP appears happy with anything that impedes the federal government. They are complicit in Trump's ongoing destruction of it.
35
@Steven Lord.. I cried too reading this excellent piece. What amazes, frightens, angers me daily is this is what we've come to with this "ECP" (electoral college president). We can only hope that we will be in a better situation 16 months from now
13
@Bonnie Thank you. I will be working for the needed change. I do have hope. I hope every American can join it the process of electing good leaders. I stand for two things: education and participation.
10
Throughout history there have been leaders who have been off their rocker to say the least and my good friend from Holland reminded me of that on a recent trip, but the shock to the system would be for him to be elected for a second term. I personally don’t see that happening regardless of how the media likes to spin these sorts of thing. The media is the business to sell news as well as report it, but it does bother me greatly that a less than wholesome potential leader is sitting back and taking notes on how to seize a weakness in character that so many lethargic and ignorant voters seem to possess. That could be very detrimental to our democracy and the next administration needs to fix that somehow so we can learn from the Trump mistake and not make that again.
38
Thanks to Ms. Milton for her principled decision. As is apparent from reports of the G7 meeting we are no longer taken particularly seriously by world leaders.
But, the crisis resulting from mass migration is happening worldwide. Intelligent and responsible leaders are necessary now to figure out how to deal with this problem effectively. It is unfortunate that the US, and some other countries, are incapable of advancing innovative solutions. At least in the US we must elect a new government that is smart and humane. I hope Ms. Milton will attempt to take her job back as soon as we have Democratic leadership in Washington, DC.
51
Thank you for over 2 years of service under the insane conditions of the Trump Administration and for staying as long as you did. My hope is that some of the Senate reads your letter and takes it as seriously as we, the public do. Because you are exactly correct about how all we can do now is wait and vote Trump out of office on November 3rd, with an overwhelming show of force.
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@NancyKelley
May I suggest we all e-mail the link to Ms. Milton's essay to each of our elected officials in DC. Flood their office in-boxes, tell them what we expect of them: duty to their country, defend the Constitution, listen to the voices of their constituents.
17
@NancyKelley You are exactly wrong to say that "all we can do now is wait..." If we are to vote Trump out of office, now is the time to commit, get busy, talk, discuss, persuade, cajole, march, write, and organise. Good people sitting and doing nothing is what got us into this sorry and embarrassing mess.
12
@NancyKelley Getting Trump out of office won't be enough. There is a majority of the Senate and a problematic number in the House who see the same insane conditions as we do; but either stay silent or actively join in on the lunatic side. They all need to go.
14
Thank you for sharing your story. You are a brave person, and I am grateful that you served our country until it became impossible to continue.
97
We're a democracy? The balance of powers says the Congress and the President and the Courts share but in actuality the Congress are syncophants to commercial power, the President covertly does what Congress can't be seen doing, and while this unsteered jalopy of greed careens down the interstate crashing into one side of the road or the other, never having a straight path forward, the Judicial moves with glacial slowness nitpicking issues that never seem to definitive enough to leave a lasting impression.
28
@katesisco We're a representative democracy. The government is only as good as the people elected to represent them. You paint Congress with a very, very broad brush. And the judicial system should decide issues of national import -- which it does, contrary to what you wrote, sometimes for the better, sometimes not -- slowly and deliberately, above all not suddenly. Our system is far from ideal, but it's not as broken as you make it out to be.
2
Thanks for a thoughtful column about your decision. If more "officials" over the course of history had had your courage to follow their conscience, a lot of sorrow might have been avoided. You deserve that most special compliment: You are a mensch.
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