The State Department is navigating escalating foreign crises with a significantly diminished career workforce, according to current and former diplomats. As the U.S. confronts conflicts in Ukraine and Iran while managing relations with China and Russia, senior career foreign service officers say they have been largely excluded from high-level negotiations that historically would have relied on their expertise.

The staffing crisis stems from an administration reorganization last summer that forced out nearly 250 foreign service officers. Diplomats typically rotate assignments globally every few years, but the cuts targeted only those who happened to be assigned to Washington at the time of the decision. After fighting the layoffs in court for nearly a year, the terminations were formalized this month.

What the Right Is Saying

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau defended the evaluation reforms, saying they address long-standing accountability issues. "Having been involved in supervising and evaluating personnel for many years in different contexts, I believe this change will restore accountability and ensure that evaluations reflect actual performance rather than inflated ratings designed to evade difficult conversations," he told The Daily Wire.

State Department spokesman Terry Pigott said Secretary of State Marco Rubio "values candid insights from patriotic Americans who have chosen to serve their country." "In fact, this administration reorganized the entire State Department to ensure those on the front lines — the regional bureaus and the embassies — are in a position to impact policies," Pigott said. "What we will not tolerate is people using their positions to actively undermine the duly elected president's objectives."

Pigott also dismissed concerns about recruitment changes, including modifications to the foreign service entrance exam and a recruitment video featuring archival footage of historical diplomats. "The same folks claiming to be concerned about supposed 'politization' should be thanking this administration for reversing the destructive DEI policies forced on the State Department under Biden," he said. "We have one fundamental goal: to implement President Trump's America first foreign policy to make our nation safer, stronger, and more prosperous."

What the Left Is Saying

Former Ambassador John Bass, who served in Turkey, Georgia and Afghanistan, said there was little doubt of the Trump administration's intentions regarding career diplomats. "Clearly, there is an organized effort to strip the career, professional workforce of experienced leaders who have a degree of expertise and who have been taught to take initiative, to solve problems, to fill the space and to speak on behalf of the nation," Bass told NBC News. "It's pretty clear that this administration does not value any of those things, and in fact sees anyone taking initiative as disloyal or somehow part of a 'deep state,' even if they're taking that initiative in a way that is fully consistent with the objectives that have been laid out by the president and the secretary."

Former diplomat Mark Lambert, who retired last January after decades in Asia policy, said tying U.S. diplomats' success to loyalty puts alliances at risk because a partisan Foreign Service results in inconsistent foreign policy. "The Foreign Service is like the military, you take an oath to the Constitution," Lambert said. "You have people who've served loyally to presidents and to secretaries of state, irrespective of political party, because that loyalty is to the Constitution. And you're hired for your judgment, to provide analysis, to provide input to your boss, no matter what political party."

Kelly Adams-Smith, who now teaches foreign policy at American University after leaving the Foreign Service, said the departure of senior officers only increases the need for new recruits. "We need a pipeline of well-trained, educated, nonpartisan professionals coming into the foreign service, we always need that," Adams-Smith said. "I would hate for young people who dream of a career in public service, to not do that at this moment, because we need them. Desperately."

What the Numbers Show

According to data from the State Department's reorganization: Nearly 250 foreign service officers were terminated as part of last summer's cuts. The layoffs primarily affected officers assigned to Washington headquarters at a specific point in May. A new bell curve system is designed to limit the percentage of diplomats receiving top rankings on annual reviews, affecting promotion prospects. Foreign service officers are now evaluated under criteria that list "fidelity" as a top desired trait.

On diplomatic engagement: Unlike past administrations of both parties, senior career foreign service officers have been largely absent from high-level negotiations. Ukraine and Iran discussions have instead been led by Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, a businessman with no prior diplomatic experience who now serves as U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East.

The Bottom Line

The departure of nearly 250 career diplomats comes at a time when the U.S. is managing multiple foreign policy challenges simultaneously. Current and former officials warn that the loss of institutional knowledge will have lasting effects beyond this administration. Former diplomat Horst, who left after her nomination as ambassador to Sri Lanka was not resubmitted, said Americans should consider practical consequences: "Will I be OK overseas if I travel and have an emergency? Can I get a passport? Can my business export the way it used to? Are my supply chains okay?"

The administration has defended its approach as restoring accountability and implementing America First priorities. What remains to be seen is whether the restructuring achieves those goals or creates gaps in diplomatic capacity that affect U.S. interests abroad.