‘We did not expect this’: State Dept laid off passport planning staff, after telling them they were exempt

State Dept. layoffs led by team of outsiders willing to ‘break stuff’

Interviews with more than 60 people detail a frenetic, arbitrary process underpinning the Trump administration’s far-reaching overhaul of the State Department.

State Dept. layoffs led by team of outsiders willing to ‘break stuff’…

‘We did not expect this’: State Dept laid off passport planning staff, after telling them they were exempt

The State Department eliminated an office that oversaw key components of its passport operations, as part of widespread layoffs that occurred July 11. The Office of Planning and Program Support (PPS) — part of the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Passport Services within the Bureau of Consular Affairs — was “abolished,” according to a recently laid-off employee and the union that represents them. Nearly 25 employees working there rec…