State Department unveils patriotic 'America First' rebrand as part of sweeping makeover

FIRST ON FOX The State Department is launching a new America First rebranding initiative to consolidate all the logos for its offices under a singular one depicting the American flag an effort that aligns with the agency s massive overhaul plans Whereas separate logos existed previously for offices including embassies bureaus and programs under the U S Agency for International Advancement the rebranding effort seeks to establish consistent branding across all these platforms to best reflect American contributions abroad according to a State Department official The redesign is very simple and that was to recenter and re-anchor the visual identity of American efforts overseas in the American flag Darren Beattie undersecretary for residents diplomacy at the State Department notified Fox News Digital Tuesday Beattie reported that inconsistent branding across State Department offices and programs has meant that sometimes U S efforts abroad aren t as widely recognized while other countries that do have uniformity in branding receive greater credit There's specific things you look at it and you have no clue that's associated with the United States regime at all and that's obviously contrary to our purposes Beattie commented If we're contributing something great overseas we want that positivity and that contribution to be forthwith visually distinguished as something associated with the United States The State Department rolled out guidance on the rebranding effort Wednesday just a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that USAID would officially no longer continue to provide foreign assistance STATE DEPARTMENT WILL ABSORB REMAINING USAID ACTIVITIES AS INDEPENDENT AGENCY IS DISMANTLEDFox News Digital first stated in March that the State Department would absorb remaining functions from the previously independent organization which delivered aid to impoverished countries and maturation assistance Compliance with the rebranding effort across State Department offices and bureaus is slated for Oct according to Beattie The effort seeks to visually complement the State Department s reorganization already underway which functionaries have reported is the largest restructuring of the agency since the Cold War Rubio unveiled plans in April to revamp the agency because the department was bloated bureaucratic and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission Additionally Rubio narrated lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing foreign affairs in May that the restructuring aimed to empower regional bureaus and embassies who are responsible for spearheading the best innovations RUBIO OVERHAULING 'BLOATED' STATE DEPARTMENT IN SWEEPING OVERHAUL They are identifying problems and opportunities well in advance of a few memo that works its way to me Rubio stated lawmakers We want to get back to a situation or we want to get to a situation where we are empowering ideas and action at the embassy level and through our regional bureaus Those are literally the front lines of American diplomacy And so we have structured a State Department that can deliver on that Fox News Digital first stated in May that the agency s reorganization plans would involve cutting or consolidating more than of the agency s offices and bureaus in an attempt to streamline operations The reorganization involves axing roughly State Department personnel amounting to approximately to of the agency s domestic headcount State Department executives previously reported Fox News Digital