title:  Trump Just Closed The Office That Coordinates Russia Sanctions
text: With Donald Trump late on implementing the new sanctions against Russia, he knew he had to spring into actions. Did he do his job? No. Did he implement the sanctions like a big boy? Nope. What he did was close the office that coordinates said sanctions. Foreign Policy reports:Secretary of State Rex Tillerson eliminated the Coordinator for Sanctions Policy office, which had been led by a veteran ambassador-rank diplomat with at least five staff, as part of an overhaul of the department, former diplomats and congressional sources told Foreign Policy.Instead, the role of coordinating U.S. sanctions across the State Department and other government agencies now falls to just one mid-level official   David Tessler, the deputy director of the Policy Planning Office. The Policy Planning Office, which previously operated as a small team providing strategic advice to the secretary but did not manage programs or initiatives, has grown in power under Tillerson s  redesign  of the department.While the sanctions office was dissolved, the administration missed a key Oct. 1 deadline to implement new penalties against Russia adopted by Congress in August. The move reinforced concerns among both Democratic and Republican lawmakers that the Trump White House is mismanaging the State Department and undercutting the role of U.S. diplomacy.While the administration had time to create chaos by eliminating the sanctions office, they for some reason could not expend the effort to actually enforce the sanctions, which have been repeatedly condemned by Donald Trump.Interesting stuff, that.Featured image via Getty Images/Alex Wong