‘America First’ Agenda: US State Department to X 1,300 employees; Trump administrators push deep cuts

The US State Department said on Friday that it is ready to reduce its workforce by over 1,300 employees as part of a major restructuring plan proposed by the Trump administration.According to senior officials of the State Department, 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers located in the US will receive termination notices.According to the internal notice reviewed by the Associated Press, foreign service officers affected by the cuts will be placed on 120-day administrative leave, after which their employment will be officially abolished. The affected civil servants will have to face a 60-day separation period.Notice says that job cuts are part of a reorganization that means “streamlining domestic operations” and cutting over the overlap, with more attention to the core diplomatic work.The memo reads, “The headcon cut cuts are carefully sewn to non-core functions, duplicative or fruitless offices and those areas where efficiency can be found,” the memo reads.The move has been supported by US State Secretary Marco Rubio and US President Donald Trump, and the department has been estimated as a way to make it more efficient.While attending the ASEAN regional platform in Kuala Lumpur, Rubio said, “It is not about firing people.” “Some positions are being abolished because the bureau they belong to are being closed. Others are unformed or are getting empty due to early retirement.”Critics argue that Downsing will severely weaken the US diplomatic influence, especially in addressing emerging global threats.Many cases challenging the sorting are still going on, but recently the US Supreme Court’s decision approved the legal route for dismissal.In May, the State Department notified the Congress of its updated plan, including 18 percent of domestic employees, which is more than the original 15 percent estimate.Internal communication showed that more than 300 offices and bureau would be affected. Some of the major areas facing elimination include refugee rehabilitation, democracy propagation, human rights and immigration-related programs.These are areas that the Trump administration has considered ideologically incompatible with its policy direction.In addition, partitions watching the 20 -year role of America in Afghanistan, including efforts to resettles Afghan colleagues, are also ready to cut.Reorganization is also part of efforts to merge the remaining roles of USAID with the state department. The USAID was targeted for a long time by the Trump Administration and former Associate Elon Musk’s Government Efficiency Department.