{"id":2385755,"date":"2025-01-02T17:26:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T22:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-department-to-route-gec-funding-to-hub-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-01-02T17:28:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T22:28:13","slug":"state-department-to-route-gec-funding-to-hub-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-department-to-route-gec-funding-to-hub-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"State Department to route GEC funding to &#8216;hub&#8217; &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fstate-department-to-route-gec-funding-to-hub-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2385755&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Recently acquired documents indicate that the State Department plans to redeploy staff from the now-defunct Global Engagement Center (GEC),\u2062 which faced allegations of censoring conservative\u2063 viewpoints, to \u200da new \u200centity called the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Hub (R\/FIMI). \u2064The GEC was shut down in late \u20632024 after Congress ceased to fund\u200d it, primarily due to criticism from republicans\u200c regarding it&#8217;s controversial activities,\u200c which included collaborating with organizations believed to threaten right<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-ratings-firm-trying-to-influence-what-news-sites-you-visit-heavily-favors-left-leaning-outlets-over-conservative-journalism\/\" title=\"Media ratings firm heavily favors left-leaning outlets over conservative journalism, influencing your news site preferences.\">-leaning \u200cmedia outlets<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The documents, \u2064obtained by the *Washington Examiner*, suggest \u2063that\u200b rather of completely dismantling \u200dthe GEC, the Biden administration is rebranding it under the R\/FIMI hub while \u200bpreserving its core functions and funding\u2014reportedly over\u2063 $29 \u2062million\u2014allocated to tackle foreign disinformation.\u2064 This move is expected to prompt \u200bfurther investigations by Republican lawmakers, who assert\u200b that the State Department is maintaining its approach\u200c to domestic disinformation \u200dunder a different guise.<\/p>\n<p>The GEC was \u2062established in 2016\u2062 to combat foreign disinformation \u2064but faced \u200dnotable backlash for allegedly supporting efforts that pressured advertisers to withdraw support from certain\u2062 conservative \u2062media. The\u200c new hub\u200c will reportedly report to the Undersecretary \u200bof State for Public Diplomacy, reflecting a \u2064continuity \u2063in \u200cthe federal government\u2019s involvement\u2064 in what \u200ccritics term &#8220;domestic disinformation fighting.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Senior GOP aides have expressed \u200dconcerns \u200cabout the persistence of what they \u200csee\u2064 as a federal government\u2019s weaponization against conservatives,indicating that vigilant\u200d oversight will be necesary under the incoming administration. Despite the GEC&#8217;s closure, \u200cits leadership has transitioned into other prominent\u200b roles\u200b within the State Department, \u200dsuggesting an\u200d ongoing influence of the previous structure within the\u2063 agency.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">State Department documents reveal secret plans to route &lsquo;censorship&rsquo; office to new hub<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1908754\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>EXCLUSIVE&nbsp;<\/strong>&mdash; The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/state-department\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">State Department<\/a>&nbsp;has crafted plans to distribute staffers from a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3266181\/funding-global-engagement-center-cut-spending-bill-gop-backlash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shuttered office<\/a>&nbsp;accused of censoring conservatives to a new internal &ldquo;hub&rdquo; that will coordinate its activities, according to documents obtained by the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The Global Engagement Center, the office that Republicans accused of working with groups aiming to demonetize right-leaning media outlets in the United States, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3266181\/funding-global-engagement-center-cut-spending-bill-gop-backlash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">shut down<\/a> in late 2024 upon lawmakers agreeing to no longer fund it. However, in a non-public letter to members of Congress on Dec. 6, the State Department outlined its plans to &ldquo;realign&rdquo; more than 50 GEC officials and tens of millions of dollars in funding to a hub purporting to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-newsom-roasted-for-what-he-did-during-trip-to-communist-china\/\" title=\"Gov. Newsom Criticized for Actions in Communist China Trip\">counter foreign interference<\/a>, documents show.<\/p>\n<p>The plans, which have not been reported on until now, will likely lead to investigations from Republicans into the State Department&rsquo;s handling of the GEC&rsquo;s closure. That&rsquo;s because, according to senior GOP staffers who reviewed them, they appear to indicate that the Biden administration is merely rebranding the GEC under a different name &mdash; forming a new body that could be poised to engage in work akin to that which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance\/2773271\/disinformation-inc-state-department-bankrolls-group-secretly-blacklisting-conservative-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">landed the office in hot water<\/a> over the last two years.<\/p>\n<p>Formed in 2016, the GEC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance\/2773271\/disinformation-inc-state-department-bankrolls-group-secretly-blacklisting-conservative-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">claimed to only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-department-agency-failing-to-fully-counter-foreign-disinformation-campaigns-says-watchdog\/\" title=\"State Department Agency Failing to Fully Counter Foreign Disinformation Campaigns, Says Watchdog\">counter foreign disinformation<\/a><\/a>, but came under intense criticism for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2749593\/disinformation-inc-meet-the-groups-hauling-in-cash-to-secretly-blacklist-conservative-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">backing the Global Disinformation Index<\/a> and other groups pressuring advertisers to defund media outlets in the U.S. deemed to peddle disinformation.<\/p>\n<p>In the congressional notification, the State Department identified the newly planned body as a &ldquo;Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Hub&rdquo; that will report to the agency&rsquo;s Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Should the authority for the GEC not be extended, the department plans to realign 51 employees and associated funding from the GEC to a proposed Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R\/FIMI) Hub reporting to the Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy (R),&rdquo; the congressional notification said, noting that remaining GEC employees and funding would go to the Bureaus of African Affairs, East Asian and Pacific Affairs, European and Eurasian Affairs, and other offices.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The exterior of the State Department complex is seen on March 14, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Nathan Posner \/ Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The documents said that the GEC would be transferring 51 employees to the R\/FIMI office and, as a whole, $29.4 million in total funding. <\/p>\n<p>They described plans to shuffle around $69 million in GEC funding to offices within the State Department, a sum that the agency said included the funds for the R\/FIMI office. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Department of State intends to realign $18.2 million in DP Public Diplomacy funding (of which $15.0 million is bureau-managed and $3.2 million is American Salaries) to eight bureaus and one office that will receive U.S. Direct Hire or third-party contract staff from GEC as part of the realignment,&rdquo; the documents said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A further $29.4 million in DP Public Diplomacy funding will be realigned to the R\/FIMI hub, including $9.57 million of American Salaries, $16.0 million in bureau-managed funding for contract staff, and $3.9 million for related support operations,&rdquo; the documents added. <\/p>\n<p>According to one senior GOP aide, GEC&rsquo;s planned shift to the hub demonstrates that the federal government won&rsquo;t give up its stake in the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">domestic disinformation fighting industry &#038;ldquo<\/a>;without a fight.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are going to have to track every single office, down to every single staffer, if they want to end the weaponization of the federal government against conservatives,&rdquo; said the aide, referring to both the president-elect and his pick for secretary of state. &ldquo;The State Department is filled with Resistance Democrats who think they got through the first Trump administration and will get through the second the same way.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A source familiar with the matter said the planned hub would not have the grantmaking power that GEC did. At the same time, besides awarding grants to groups accused of censoring conservatives, the GEC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2960567\/dhs-state-department-2020-election-censorship-group-emails\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">was involved with other initiatives<\/a> that earned the ire of lawmakers concerned about First Amendment violations.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, top GEC staffers have already resurfaced to work for the most high-ranking officials at the State Department, the agency confirmed to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>James P. Rubin, GEC&rsquo;s former special envoy and coordinator, is now a senior adviser to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Leah Bray, GEC&rsquo;s former acting coordinator, is chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Leah, a twenty-two year military veteran, is a noted China expert, respected in bipartisan circles for her knowledge of the Indo-Pacific,&rdquo; a State Department spokesperson said. &ldquo;She has worked across multiple presidential administrations and served as President Trump&rsquo;s Director for China at the National Security Council.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>And Daniel Kimmage, who was principal deputy coordinator for the GEC, is working for the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy&rsquo;s team, the State Department spokesperson said. Kimmage <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2451201\/biden-official-grilled-by-gop-over-conservative-disinformation-blacklist-group-funding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">was notably grilled in an October 2023 congressional hearing by Republicans<\/a> over apparent GEC &ldquo;censorship,&rdquo; though has, along with the State Department&rsquo;s press office, pushed back on any allegations of wrongdoing. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Given the evidence shows that the GEC has long ignored its congressional mandate to focus solely on foreign disinformation, its continuation under a so-called hub is extremely troubling,&rdquo; said Margot Cleveland, an attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/nclalegal.org\/who-we-are\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">for<\/a> the New Civil Liberties Alliance. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legal-nonprofit-michigan-unwilling-to-purge-25000-dead-people-on-voter-rolls\/\" title=\"Legal Nonprofit: Michigan Unwilling to Purge \u201825,000\u2019 Dead People on Voter Rolls\">legal nonprofit group<\/a> is representing conservative media outlets that are suing the GEC for funding the Global Disinformation Index and a New York-based company called NewsGuard. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire addresses the student group Young Americans for Freedom at the University of Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017. (Leah Hogsten\/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The outlets, the <em>Federalist<\/em> and the <em>Daily Wire<\/em>, joined the State of Texas in the December 2023 lawsuit accusing the GEC of facilitating &ldquo;one of the most egregious government operations to censor the American press in the history of the nation,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2640919\/state-department-faces-lawsuit-from-conservative-media-over-funding-censorship-scheme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">according<\/a> to a complaint. <\/p>\n<p>Cleveland added that the State Department has declined to share the congressional notification as part of the alleged censorship lawsuit with the NCLA&rsquo;s clients.<\/p>\n<p>They were sent in December to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the House Appropriations Committee, and the Senate Appropriations Committee. <\/p>\n<p>The documents obtained by the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, which total six pages, also provide insight into the number of GEC initiatives that are expiring.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The GEC currently implements 32 projects that will expire or close out following the December 23, 2024, sunset date,&rdquo; the notice said. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;GEC currently provides approximately $20 million in support of independent foreign media that has been targeted by hostile state actors,&rdquo; the notice added. &ldquo;Helping to combat the silencing of independent media for highly vulnerable overseas communities actively targeted by Russia and the People&rsquo;s Republic of China is part of the GEC&rsquo;s critical work. The GEC helps ensure these organizations are able to continue their operations.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The State Department declined to comment on the congressional notification.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1908754\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1908754\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>State Department plans to relocate staff from a closed office accused of censoring conservatives to a new hub, documents reveal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":2385756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Joe-Biden-gaffes.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[47792,14264,45383,32895,32076],"class_list":["post-2385755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-gec-funding","tag-hub","tag-policy-news","tag-state-department","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Joe-Biden-gaffes.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2385755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2385755"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2385755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2385759,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2385755\/revisions\/2385759"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2385756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2385755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2385755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2385755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}