US State Department fires 1,350+ employees
Shafaq News – Washington
The US State Department began laying off more than 1,350 domestic employees on Friday, initiating a sweeping restructuring of American diplomacy under President Donald Trump.
An internal memo confirmed that 1,107 civil service staff and 246 foreign service officers were affected. The cuts are part of a larger plan to eliminate nearly 3,000 positions—over 16% of the department’s domestic workforce—through forced terminations and voluntary departures.
The notice framed the move as an effort to streamline operations and eliminate “non-core functions” and “duplicative offices,” aligning with Trump’s “America First” platform. It follows a February directive from the president instructing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to remove personnel deemed politically disloyal.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia condemned the layoffs, warning they would cripple US diplomatic capacity. “This is one of the most ridiculous decisions that could possibly be made,” he stated, adding that while China expands its diplomatic reach and Russia wages war in Ukraine, Trump and Rubio are hollowing out America’s diplomatic corps.
At the State Department’s Washington headquarters, makeshift outprocessing stations were set up for departing staff to surrender badges, equipment, and documents. Signs reading “Transition Day Out Processing” were posted, and cardboard boxes and tissues were made available.
A five-page checklist obtained by Reuters detailed offboarding procedures, including revocation of building and email access by 5 p.m. Friday.
Rubio, who unveiled the restructuring plan in April, called the department “bloated and ineffective.” He said the overhaul would refocus resources on “great power competition,” shift authority to embassies and regional bureaus, and shutter offices handling democracy promotion, human rights, and war crimes.
Legal challenges delayed the plan for months, but the US Supreme Court cleared the way on Tuesday. Since then, the White House Counsel’s Office and the Office of Personnel Management have worked with federal agencies to implement the cuts under approved legal protocols.
