US diplomatic agency attempts a tender illegitimately (5,10)
I believe the answer is:
state department
'us diplomatic agency attempts a tender illegitimately' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'us diplomatic agency attempts a tender illegitimately' is the wordplay.
'attempts a tender' can be anagrammed to 'STATE DEPARTMENT'.
However, I'm not sure how this is indicated.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for state department that I've seen before include "US Foreign Office" , "American diplomats" , "Washington office" , "government agency abroad" , "US officials" .)