Particle.news
Download on the App Store
7 ARTICLES
·
2h ago

Rubio Advances Largest State Department Overhaul Since Cold War

After the Supreme Court lifted a block on layoffs, the department is cutting more than 1,300 roles with nearly 3,000 departures planned by September 30.

FILE - State Department employees applaud as their colleagues walk through the lobby of the State Department headquarters in the Harry S Truman Building, July 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
State Department employees applaud as their colleagues walk through the lobby of the State Department headquarters in the Harry S. Truman Building, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein).
State Department employees applaud as their colleagues walk outside of the State Department headquarters in the Harry S Truman Building, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
FILE - A fired State Department employee, left, is greeted outside of the Harry S. Truman Building, the headquarters of the State Department, in Washington, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Overview

  • The Supreme Court’s late June decision removed a lower court injunction and allowed the first round of roughly 1,350 layoffs to begin on July 11.
  • State Department leaders plan to reduce staffing by about 3,000 through a mix of voluntary buyouts and reduction-in-force notices by the end of September.
  • Over 300 non-core and duplicative domestic offices are being merged or closed, approval layers are capped at 12 and authority is being shifted back to embassies and regional bureaus.
  • USAID functions are being folded into State, emergency aid programs are centralized under regional bureaus and country desks are being preserved to align with the administration’s budget priorities.
  • Democratic senators and union groups warn that cuts to human rights and democracy offices could undermine U.S. soft power and legal challenges to the reorganization remain pending.