Trump administration fires over 1,350 State Department employees in sweeping overhaul

By lauraharris // 2025-07-17

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The State Department began terminating over 1,350 U.S.-based employees on July 11 as part of a Trump-ordered reorganization, with an additional 1,600 voluntary departures bringing total workforce reductions to nearly 3,000 – about 17 percent of its domestic staff.
The cuts include 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers, with exemptions for passport/visa services, law enforcement and regional desks. Offices aiding Afghan resettlement were among the hardest hit.
The reorganization aims to streamline domestic operations, eliminate redundancy and redirect resources to "mission-critical" overseas functions.
Laid-off employees underwent a formal separation process, with designated "Transition Day" stations and emotional support resources. Civil servants receive 60 days' notice; foreign service officers, 120 days of administrative leave.
The layoffs follow Trump's February directive and are backed by Secretary Marco Rubio. A recent Supreme Court ruling gave the administration broad authority to implement federal workforce cuts without further congressional approval.

The U.S. Department of State began terminating more than 1,350 U.S.-based employees on July 11 as part of a sweeping reorganization of the diplomatic corps under President Donald Trump. According to an internal department notice, 1,107 civil service employees and 246 foreign service officers have been laid off to "streamline domestic operations" and concentrate resources on core diplomatic priorities. The cuts, which also include nearly 1,600 voluntary departures, bring the total reduction to close to 3,000 employees or roughly 17 percent of the 18,000-strong domestic State Department workforce. Department officials said the layoffs will allow the agency to shift focus and funding toward "mission-critical" operations overseas. Most civil servants will enter a 60-day separation period, but foreign service officers affected by the cuts will be placed on 120 days of administrative leave before formal termination. "In connection with the departmental reorganization...the department is streamlining domestic operations to focus on diplomatic priorities. Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and offices where considerable efficiencies may be found from centralization or consolidation of functions and responsibilities," stated an internal State Department notice sent to the workforce. (Related: Trump administration targets 200,000 probationary federal workers in sweeping workforce cuts.) In line with the layoffs, images from inside Foggy Bottom showed offices outfitted with signs reading "Transition Day Out Processing," where affected employees turned in badges, phones and laptops. Some rooms contained boxes of tissues and bottled water for emotional support. A five-page "separation checklist" was distributed to employees, notifying them they would lose building and email access by 5 p.m. EDT Friday. Among those hit hardest by the layoffs are personnel from the State Department office responsible for overseeing the resettlement of Afghan nationals who worked alongside U.S. forces during the 20-year war in Afghanistan. However, passport and visa operations, regional country desks and law enforcement agents will be exempt from the reductions. The department plans to hold internal town halls and roll out new reporting structures over the coming weeks as it implements the changes. "It's not a consequence of trying to get rid of people. 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," Rubio said on Thursday, July 10, in defense of the move.

Supreme Court clears path for Trump's State Department overhaul

The move follows a February directive from Trump ordering Secretary of State Marco Rubio to carry out a top-down revamp of the U.S. diplomatic corps to ensure that the president's foreign policy is "faithfully" implemented. Trump claimed this will end the bloated bureaucracy that has for too long undermined the will of the American people Rubio first echoed this restructuring plan in April, calling the State Department "bloated and bureaucratic," and ill-equipped to handle the challenges of what he described as a "new era of great power competition." "Under @POTUS' leadership and at my direction, we are reversing decades of bloat and bureaucracy at the State Department. These sweeping changes will empower our talented diplomats to put America and Americans first," Rubio said at the time. Now, with the Supreme Court allowing the Trump administration to move forward with federal workforce reductions even as legal challenges continue in federal court, the State Department proceeded with the restructuring. The ruling gave the administration broad authority to restructure executive branch agencies without further congressional approval. Visit BigGovernment.news for more stories like this. Watch the video below where Trump lays out his second-term plans.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

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Supreme Court clears path for Trump's State Department overhaul

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