The Donald Trump administration’s large-scale cuts and restructuring of the U.S. State Department are causing serious concern among current and former employees. They warn that these changes will have severe long-term effects on national security and America’s position in the world. Thousands of experienced staff have been laid off or have chosen to leave through buyout offers, while a proposed budget cut of nearly 50% has left the department in chaos and morale at its lowest point ever.
More than 1,350 State Department employees received Reduction In Force (RIF) notices after a Supreme Court decision allowed the administration to move forward with these actions, among other things. This makes up about 15% of the domestic workforce and adds to the roughly 3,000 employees who have left the agency through RIFs, early retirement, or resignation buyouts.
According to The Guardian, Senate Democrats and laid-off workers have called the firings “unlawful,” “sloppy,” and “rushed.” Jose Mercado, a 29-year veteran of the State Department who was recently let go, disagreed with claims by Deputy Secretary of State Michael Rigas that the cuts were based on careful assessment and analysis. Mercado said the process was “the least transparent” and “very directed from top down,” with rules changed to make it easier to fire people outside normal legal procedures. The American Federation of Government Employees is preparing legal challenges against these actions.
Trump administration keeps firing more people who should be safe
The cuts are not just about reducing staff; they represent a major change in policy priorities. Programs and services supporting LGBTQ+ communities, maternal and reproductive health, and minority groups have been eliminated or heavily reduced, replaced by far-right ideological policies. An anonymous policy adviser pointed out that annual human rights reports, which are important for Congress, no longer include sections on these issues because they do not fit with the administration’s “America first” agenda.
The adviser also mentioned extreme ideological influence, such as a 27-year-old political appointee, Samuel Samson, who has criticized European “mass migration” and suggested giving direct funding to French far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) July 11, 2025
#BREAKING: State Department layoffs are taking place this morning.
The reduction in force will amount to 3,000 total employees, according to an internal State Department communication obtained by @RCPolitics RealClearPolitics and attached below.
That's 1,107 civil… pic.twitter.com/gGtRDYOGcA
The damage to morale is clear, with employees feeling pressured to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Staff members report unusual restrictions on meetings with outside organizations or foreign embassies due to “political sensitivities.”
Beyond the immediate chaos, the long-term effects are alarming. Mercado stressed the loss of “institutional knowledge” and “diminished capabilities,” saying that weakening the department’s role in monitoring human rights and democracy allows for “unsavory business practices” and harms foreign policy.
This view is shared by former Trump officials, including former Secretary of Defense Gen. Jim Mattis, who once famously said that if the State Department is not funded, “you need to buy me more bullets,” highlighting how crucial diplomacy is to national security.
