U.S. State Department launches sweeping workforce cuts

Trump’s Trump? A 1,300‑Employee Purge at the State Department

On Friday the Washington headquarters of the U.S. State Department emptied as 1,357 former staff members were instructed to pick up their gear and leave. The firings were announced a day after the Supreme Court for the first time cleared the way for President Donald Trump to launch a “deep state” dismissal plan that would slough dozens of thousands of workers. The President cited bureaucratic bloat as a reason for the purge, but critics warn that the layoffs could undermine American influence worldwide.

Emotional Farewells on the Department Grounds

In a scene that resembled a music video, departing personnel clapped out fellow colleagues, many of whom cried as they walked out with boxes of personal belongings. A State Department spokesperson confirmed that 1,107 civil‑service employees and 246 Foreign Service diplomatic staff had been terminated.

Courts, Politicians and A Widened Budget

• Three days after the Supreme Court lifted a temporary block, the Trump administration launched its layoffs. The conservative‑dominated court topped a lower court’s hold on the plan to thin out up to tens of thousands of employees.
• Only 79‑year‑old President Trump publicly stated his desire to “dismantle the deep state.” Since taking office in January, he has rapidly installed loyal politicians and fired a swath of veteran government staff.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed Trump’s remark that the foreign policy department is too cumbersome and needs to thin out about 15 percent.
• The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the union representing State Department staff, condemned the layoff as a “catastrophic blow to our national interests.”

Global Instability Meets a Dwindling Diplomatic Workforce

AFSA’s statement appeared at a moment of global instability—war in Ukraine, conflict between Israel and Iran and authoritarian regimes testing international order. “At a moment of great global instability…the United States has chosen to gut its frontline diplomatic workforce,” AFSA said. “We oppose this decision in the strongest terms.”

Impact on Civil Service and Foreign Service

According to last year’s fact sheet, the State Department employed over 80,000 people worldwide and about 17,700 were domestic employees. The U.S. Agency for International Development, once the primary vehicle for U.S. humanitarian assistance, has already been nearly dismantled.

According to The Washington Post, employees were informed of their termination by email. Foreign Service officers will lose their jobs 120 days after receiving the notice and will be immediately placed on administrative leave. Civil service employees will be separated after 60 days.

Union Reactions and Criticism

• Former State Department spokesman Ned Price, whom served under the Democratic president Joe Biden, condemned the firings as “haphazard.” “For all the talk about ‘merit‑based,’ they’re firing officers based on where they happen to be assigned on this arbitrary day,” said Price on X. “It’s the laziest, most inefficient, and most damaging way to lean the workforce.”
• Former ambassador Barbara Leaf, Biden’s top Middle Eastern diplomat, said the move “will have terrible consequences for our ability to protect American citizens abroad, pursue and defend the national interest and our national security.”

Leaf concluded on LinkedIn, “This is not a re‑org. This is a purge.”