State Department Drops Hillary Clinton's Name From Fellowship

Hillary Clinton's name has vanished from a prestigious State Department fellowship that helps Americans work abroad.

The Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellowship is now known simply as the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship.

A State Department spokesman told The Washington Post that the former first lady's name was scrubbed as part of a plan to strengthen the Fulbright "brand."

But one official said the agency's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) was worried that Clinton's name could lead to the fellowship being targeted for elimination.

"The ECA bureau is in crisis mode. They were talking about zeroing out its budget. They felt they had to get rid of a toxic name," the official told The Post.

The program was created in 1946 by Sen. William Fulbright of Arkansas, and Clinton's name added in 2012. In the past, it has provided about $34,000 a year to as many as 24 students, according to The Post.

It provides opportunities for U.S. citizens to serve in professional placements in a foreign government ministry or institution in partner governments.

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