Rubio Tightens State Department Approval Rules

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told senior State Department officials to avoid conflicts of interest, stay within their assigned roles and obtain senior approval for significant policy decisions, according to people familiar with a meeting last week. The account of the private discussion comes from four people; the State Department declined to comment.

Rubio said unethical conduct would result in dismissal regardless of an employee’s political connections, one person familiar with the meeting said. Officials were also told that major policy decisions required approval from Rubio or Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. The roughly two dozen assistant secretaries oversee major diplomatic and administrative operations; many attended the meeting, according to the account.

The reported directives came as the department’s policy chief, Jeremy Lewin, departed. Three people familiar with his exit said concerns about work outside his remit and poor coordination contributed to it, but gave no specific examples. They did not suggest ethical misconduct was involved.

Lewin said his departure had been planned weeks earlier and denied that he was fired. He said he resigned to take a...