US EditionState Department layoffs affect key Trump priorities like intelligence, energy and China
UNITED STATES, JUL 16 – Layoffs cut about 15% of State Department staff, including senior intelligence analysts on Russia and Ukraine, amid efforts to streamline the agency and reduce budget by nearly half.
- On July 13 2025, the U.S. State Department laid off senior analysts focusing on Russia and Ukraine, New York Times reported, among 1,350 staff dismissed.
- Driven by the 'America First' foreign policy agenda, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said reforms aim to reduce bloat, inertia, and radical ideology.
- Sources told CNN the process was chaotic, with passport fraud units and ECA staff facing unexpected cuts despite prior assurances.
- Lawmakers said the layoffs created the largest brain drain in the State Department's modern history, while Gregory Meeks said `the layoffs have created the largest brain drain in the State Department's modern history`.
- Meanwhile, House appropriators are considering less severe cuts while the House Appropriations subcommittee advanced a fiscal 2026 spending bill, which could cut State Department funding by 22%.
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99 Articles
State Dept Spox Bruce to Newsmax: Staff Reductions Make Agency More Efficient
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told Newsmax on Thursday that recent reductions in force at the agency will not hamper the Trump administration's efforts to address its priorities, as some mainstream media outlets have suggested. More than 1,300 employees were let go Friday as part of the department's reduction in force initiatives, but Bruce told "Rob Schmitt Tonight" the total is approximately 3,000, including those who took the admi…
About 1,300 employees of the State Department were fired last week, most major media took a critical position and even presented the issue as a possible risk to national security. But the reality is that more employees do not always mean better results and particularly in the government, the huge amount of bureaucracy on many occasions even hinders the execution of fundamental tasks.Read more]]>
State Department firings will hit Trump admin’s ability to tackle its own priorities, sources say
The mass firing of State Department employees could significantly impact the Trump administration’s ability to address the priorities it has said it values, multiple former and current department officials told CNN.
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