Tillerson tightens the reins at U.S. State Department

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last month tightened his control over the State Department by taking back powers previously held by the top career foreign service officer, an action critics said would delay major decisions and marginalise career diplomats.

The move retracted broad decision-making authority granted to the agency's third-highest ranking official, the undersecretary for political affairs, by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Most of those powers will be reserved instead for Tillerson and his deputy.