To provide for the authorities of the Secretary of State.
H.R. 5244 seeks to reorganize and expand the authorities and internal structure of the Department of State. It authorizes the Secretary of State to create new leadership roles and offices to improve situational awareness, policy planning, legal guidance, intelligence integration, protocol, and communications. A major feature is establishing a dedicated United States Ambassador to the United Nations (with Senate confirmation) and a formal United States Mission to the UN, with enhanced responsibilities for monitoring UN activities, countering malign influence operations, and supporting Taiwan’s participation where appropriate. The bill also introduces new crisis planning tools (a Red Team capability), clarifies funding allocations for 2026–2027, and requires a government-wide accounting of unfunded priorities to Congress. Overall, it would methodically expand and codify the Secretary’s authority to organize, direct, and budget the department’s diplomacy and related functions.
Key Points
- 1Office and leadership expansion at the Secretary’s level: authorizes positions such as Chief of Staff, Counselor, and Executive Secretariat to support the Secretary’s decision-making and management.
- 2United Nations focus: creates a U.S. Ambassador to the UN with Security Council duties, reporting to the Secretary, and establishes a United States Mission to the UN with voting and coordination rules aligned to Presidential instructions; includes powers to address malign influence operations and to support Taiwan’s participation.
- 3New departmental bureaus and offices: establishes or formalizes (a) Bureau of Legislative Affairs, (b) Bureau of Intelligence and Research, (c) Office of Policy Planning, (d) Office of the Legal Adviser, (e) Office of Protocol, and (f) Office of the Spokesperson; assigns heads and general duties to integrate into overall statecraft.
- 4Senior leadership and staffing roles: creates Assistant Secretaries for Legislative Affairs and Intelligence and Research, a Director of Policy Planning, and a Legal Adviser, each responsible for their respective domain and for coordinating with other department components.
- 5Policy planning and legal oversight: strengthens independent policy analysis, long-term planning, and legal guidance to support diplomacy, international negotiations, treaty work, and interagency processes.
- 6Crisis planning and risk assessment: mandates a Red Team Capability to inform crisis response and contingency planning, with a required post-exercise report.
- 7Budget and Congress: authorizes appropriations for 2026–2027, specifies funding for the UN Mission, new bureaus/offices, and leadership, and requires a report on unfunded priorities to Congress with prioritization and budget details.
- 8Code classification: directs the Office of Law Revision Counsel to classify these provisions in the U.S. Code and maintain historical editorial notes.