Over 1,000 laid off at US State Department amid Trump cuts
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A person uses a mobile phone with the US Capitol building in the background on Capitol Hill in Washington. Photograph: (Reuters)
Over 1,000 State Department staff laid off as Trump pushes ahead with deep federal cuts, sparking backlash over national security and diplomatic capacity.
More than 1,000 employees at the US State Department have been laid off as part of the Trump administration’s effort to reduce the size of the federal government. According to BBC Business, citing a notice sent to staff and obtained by CBS News, the cuts include 1,107 civil service employees and 246 foreign service officers. The layoffs follow months of voluntary departures, with over 1,500 other employees choosing to leave earlier this year as part of what the administration has described as a sweeping federal reorganisation.
What happened?
The move comes days after the US Supreme Court cleared the administration’s broader plan to reduce the federal workforce, allowing the cuts to proceed.
CBS News reported that entire offices have been hit hard. Nearly all civil service officers in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration’s office of admissions, which manages refugee resettlement in the United States, were laid off. Staff from the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) office, which has handled evacuations and resettlement of Afghan allies, were also among those let go.
“It’s not about getting rid of people”
Speaking in Malaysia on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the move. “It’s not a consequence of trying to get rid of people,” Rubio said, according to BBC Business. “But if you close the bureau, you don’t need those positions. Understand that some of these are positions that are being eliminated, not people.”
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However, critics, including Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned the layoffs in a statement reported by BBC Business. “The decision to fire hundreds of members of the Civil Service and Foreign Service at the Department of State undermines our national security. While there are targeted reforms that our government can pursue to maximize the impact of every tax dollar, that’s not what this is. Blanket and indiscriminate cuts … weaken our government’s ability to deliver for the American people.”
Why it matters?
The US State Department is the nation’s lead diplomatic agency, managing relations with foreign governments, protecting US citizens overseas, and administering consulates and embassies around the world. According to BBC Business, the department had more than 18,700 US-based employees earlier this year before cuts began. The federal government overall employs about 2.2 million civilians, as per the US Office of Personnel Management.
This week’s layoffs are part of President Donald Trump’s long-promised campaign to reduce government spending and shrink the federal workforce. The administration argues the cuts will streamline government. Earlier this month, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was formally shut down under White House orders, with BBC Business reporting that over 80 per cent of its programmes were already cancelled by March. On 1 July, its remaining operations were absorbed into the State Department.
The debate continues
Supporters say these moves eliminate redundant spending and focus resources more effectively. But critics argue that dismantling parts of America’s diplomatic and humanitarian infrastructure will undermine the country’s global influence and its ability to respond to crises.
As the administration pushes forward with its federal reorganisation plan, questions remain over how these deep cuts will reshape the work of US diplomacy in an increasingly complex world.