U.S. State Department ousts senior official for being "abusive"

Skinner was told Thursday afternoon that she was fired.

Kiron Skinner is sworn-in as Director of Policy Planning, at the Department of State, September 4, 2018. [File Photo: IC]

While the State Department declined to publicly discuss personnel matters, Politico confirmed the firing, citing multiple sources.

According to the Politico, Skinner "acted unprofessionally in multiple ways": She yelled in public spaces and used homophobic language; she retaliated against employees by kicking them out of their offices and alleged that some people were having affairs.

The report cited State Department officials as saying that her management style led to a revolt from her subordinates. A third of the 20-plus member staff of her team quit or moved to other positions during her tenure, and recently another five people threatened to leave unless she was fired.

Skinner drew public criticism earlier this year after asserting the United States and China were in a fight between civilizations, and wrongly stated that it was the first time the United States "will have a great power competitor that is not Caucasian."