Overview

• The State Department began dismissing 1,300 employees on July 11 after a Supreme Court decision lifted a block on the Trump administration’s reorganization plan.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio has labeled the department “bloated” and defended the cuts as necessary to align with core American values and eliminate pockets of radical political ideology.
• The overhaul consolidates or closes more than 300 bureaus, merges USAID functions and cuts thousands of positions under the America First agenda.
• Veteran journalists and lawmakers have likened the mass firings to a modern-day McCarthyism purge, characterizing it as a loyalty test against an “enemy within.”
• Observers warn that large-scale downsizing at a time when Russia and China are expanding their overseas presence could weaken U.S. soft power and diminish its global influence.