Partnership for Public Service statement on the confirmation of secretary of state Marco Rubio

WASHINGTON – The nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service released the following statement from President and CEO Max Stier after Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to become secretary of state.

“During his confirmation hearing to be secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio pledged to work with a new congressional commission focused on State Department modernization, support the department’s employees and diplomats, and improve customer service relating to the issuance of passports and visas along with the assistance provided to Americans during emergencies overseas.”

“We applaud Secretary Rubio for his dedication to serve our country in this new capacity, his commitment to working with the department’s career civil servants, and his pledge to improve its service delivery to the public. The Partnership stands ready to assist the secretary and his leadership team in their efforts to provide support to the workforce and strengthen the management of the department.”

The Partnership’s Department of State agency performance dashboard  provides insights about the operations and workforce at the department. Some key data points include:

• 2023 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government^® overall score and rank: 60.8, ranking 14 out of 17 large agencies

• 2023 Effective Leadership Score: 67.5, ranking 14 out of 17 large agencies

• Number of Senate-confirmed positions: 248

The Partnership also produces and maintains several resources to assess and analyze the health of the federal government, including a political appointments tracker with The Washington Post that follows the progress of roughly 800 of President Trump’s Senate-confirmed positions. The annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government^® rankings, produced by the Partnership and Boston Consulting Group, measure employee engagement government-wide as well as at individual departments, agencies and subcomponents. Additionally, our Vision for a Better Government provides areas of focus for management reforms.

During the past 24 years, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service has been dedicated to building a better government and a stronger democracy. We work across administrations to help transform the way government works by providing agencies with the data insights they need to succeed, developing effective leaders, inspiring the next generation to public service, facilitating smooth presidential transitions and recognizing exceptional federal employees.

Visit ourpublicservice.org, follow us @PublicService and subscribe today to get the latest federal news, information on upcoming Partnership programs and events, and more.

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