According to a comprehensive report by Wen Wei Po, the fallout from the massive layoffs at the US State Department continues to reverberate. CNN reported on May 16 that the State Department recently made the official decision to lay off nearly 250 diplomats. This layoff initiative, which began last July, has also affected more than 1,000 civilian staff and led to the complete elimination of some offices. A former official stated that these offices could have guided the war in Iran. The US State Department has consistently maintained that the downsizing is intended to eliminate redundancies and that work related to key issues has been retained and transferred to other offices.
In addition to layoffs, many veteran diplomats with decades of experience have chosen to retire. More than a dozen former officials interviewed by CNN said that the Trump administration has clearly failed to provide career diplomats with opportunities for advancement—such as ambassadorial posts— leaving them with no options in an "up or out" system. David Kostelancik, who retired after 36 years in the diplomatic service, said, "It was just unprecedented numbers of people choosing to leave." The American Foreign Service Association estimates that approximately 2,000 diplomats left the State Department last year.
Sensitive Negotiations Now Led by Trump Loyalists
Including the Middle East, Ukraine, and Russia, the United States has more than 100 ambassadorial nominees worldwide who have yet to be confirmed by the Senate. Meanwhile, the most sensitive diplomatic negotiations—such as those regarding the Iraq War and the Russia-Ukraine conflict—are being led by Trump's business partners and family members, often without the involvement of a team of senior diplomats with regional expertise. According to former diplomats, these measures represent a systematic "hollowing out" of the US State Department, despite Secretary of State Rubio's pledge upon taking office to empower the State Department. Although the State Department has begun recruiting new diplomats, these former officials say the loss of experienced personnel will have a profound impact on the US's ability to project power and achieve its priorities both now and in the coming years. Former US Ambassador to Turkey Bass said, "I think historians will look back on this period as one of the great unforced errors that the United States imposes on itself."
In addition to large-scale cuts to the diplomatic corps, many former officials have pointed out that the Trump administration has largely excluded career diplomats from key diplomatic crises, relying instead on a "small circle" of advisors he trusts. Bass believes that "discounts experience and values loyalty instead" has created an environment that forces professionals to leave or instills fear in those who remain. Several officials have stated that the annual evaluation system used for promoting serving diplomats has been altered to include a criterion assessing "loyalty" to government policy.
(Source: Wen Wei Po)
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