The U.S. State Department has terminated over 1,353 employees – including 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service officers – in the largest single reduction of diplomatic personnel in modern history.
The Friday layoffs, confirmed through internal documents obtained by CBS News, complete President Trump’s campaign promise to shrink federal bureaucracy by 18%, following 1,500 voluntary departures earlier this year.
The staffing reductions has wrecked key diplomatic functions, with nearly all civil service officers in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration’s refugee admissions program eliminated. The State Department’s Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) office, which managed Taliban-era evacuations, saw mass terminations of key personnel. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s dissolution of USAID reached its final stage, with remaining international aid programs forcibly absorbed into the State Department bureaucracy.
Viral social media footage revealed emotional scenes at Foggy Bottom headquarters as career diplomats carried boxes past protesting colleagues holding signs reading “Thank you to America’s diplomats.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the cuts in Malaysia, insisting “positions are being eliminated, not people” – a claim contradicted by termination notices citing “reduction in force” (RIF) procedures.
National Security Concerns and Political Backlash
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats warned the “indiscriminate cuts undermine national security,” comparing the approach to Elon Musk’s chaotic Twitter downsizing. The layoffs are coming at a time the Supreme Court greenlit broader federal workforce reductions, with the State Department’s US-based employees plummeting from 18,700 to approximately 15,300 since January. Critics highlight the irony of gutting refugee programs while Title 42 expulsions continue at record levels.
Career foreign service officers have reported receiving termination notices via encrypted email, with many learning their security clearances were simultaneously revoked – a move experts say will cripple institutional memory as China expands its diplomatic corps by 30%.
