The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon reprinted on 29 July 2025 a commentary originally published in the Chicago Tribune titled "Burning Down America's Best Tool for Peace and Prosperity" by Elisabeth Shakelford, Dartmouth.
The author makes the case against the recent major cuts in State Department staffing instituted by DOGE. She argues that diplomacy is the least expensive way to resolve or mitigate global crises.
HuffPost published on 26 July 2025 an article titled "Trump Is Gutting the State Department and Dragging Diplomats 'Through the Mud'" by Akbar Shahid Ahmed.
The State Department recently fired more than 1,300 personnel and provided incentives for another 1,500 to quit. It also has a hiring freeze in effect so that new staff cannot be added.
The article suggests that the firings are party ideologically motivated. The demonizing of civil service and foreign service staff has sunk morale. The author concludes that the State Department will likely be left "to wither" for the remainder of Trump's term.
Federal News Network posted on 25 July 2025 an article titled "These Are the State Department Offices Hit Hardest by Widespread Layoffs" by Jory Heckman.
The State Department fired 1,350 employees earlier this month. This is a detailed account of the number of fired employees in 31 bureaus and offices according to civil service or foreign service status.
The New York Times published on 23 July 2025 an article titled "U.S. Quietly Drafts Plan to End Program That Saved Millions from AIDS" by Stephanie Nolen.
Planning documents for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) obtained by The New York Times call for changes that would effectively end the program. The planning documents, which have not yet been approved by the senior level of the State Department, would replace PEPFAR by "bilateral relationships" with low-income countries focused on the detection of outbreaks that could threaten the United States and the creation of new markets for American drugs and technologies.
The Hill Published on 20 July 2025 an article titled "A Postmortem on the Dismantling of USAID" by Glenn C. Altschuler, Cornell University.
The Trump administration cancelled 83 percent of USAID's programs and laid off 94 percent of its 4,500 employees, transferring the few remaining staff to the State Department. The author concluded that the dismantling of USAID has already had a negative impact on the lives of tens of millions of vulnerable people in 130 countries and undermined US national interest.
The Economist published on 15 July 2025 an article titled "Five Charts Explain Trump's Cuts to Foreign Aid."
The Economist displays in five charts the impact of the dismantlement of USAID. In terms of impact as a percent of gross national income, Africa is the most affected continent. Funding cuts by sector primarily impact infrastructure (100%), basic education (99%), administrative costs (94%), and maternal and child health (92%).
The least affected programs are economic growth (12%), refugees and IDPs (13%), and HIV/AIDS (20%). Projected global deaths in 2026 due to the health care cuts total 973,000.
The Washington Post published on 15 July 2025 a commentary titled "William H. McRaven: Cutting the State Department and USAID Will Put Every American at Risk,"
Retired Admiral McRaven, commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014, praised the work of Foreign Service and USAID personnel at locations around the world, especially for their efforts to counter terrorism. He singled out some by name and argued that the dismantlement of USAID and sharp personnel reductions at the State Department only jeopardize American national security.
ABC News posted on 13 July 2025 an article titled "Sudan Has Become a 'Case Study' for the Impact of USAID Cuts, Aid Worker Says" by Chris Boccia.
The dismantling of USAID has created a chaotic situation in Sudan following a humanitarian emergency that began several years ago. Some US food aid continues to reach Sudan. Cuts in the health sector programs have been especially damaging.
NBC News posted on 12 July 2025 an account titled "Veteran U.S. Diplomats Baffled after Mass Layoffs at State Department" by Abigail Williams.
This is a report on the 11 July dismissal of more than 1,300 State Department civil and foreign service personnel. It focuses on the way the State Department conducted the firings and the response of those fired and those who kept their jobs.
The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the organization that represents personnel in the State Department and other international affairs agencies, issued a statement on 11 July 2025 titled "AFSA Strongly Opposes State Department Reductions in Force."
The statement appeared before more than 1,300 civil service and foreign service personnel at the U.S. Department of State learned today that they are being dismissed. These dismissals follow a 20 percent reduction in personnel because of the dismantlement of the U.S. Agency for International Development and earlier forced resignations.
Comment: This is a sad day for civil service and foreign service personnel in the State Department. While it has been done in the name of "reform," it has nothing to do with reform. It is little more than part of a much larger effort to shrink the U.S. government in the mistaken view that it can do more with less. The American public can judge the results in the years to come.
There are legitimate reasons to periodically change foreign policy priorities, eliminate functions, and add them. But the reduction in force used in this "reform" does not appear to follow any coherent effort to take into account the skills and expertise of those being dismissed or the growing challenges that confront American foreign policy.
National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A) posted on 7 July 2025 a statement warning that State Department layoffs threaten U.S. national security. It argues that the elimination of some 2,000 positions will result in a loss of critical expertise, surrender global leadership, and is being done without any clear strategy for going forward.
The American Academy of Diplomacy, an organization of retired senior State Department and international affairs personnel, posted on 3 July 2025 a press release titled "The Academy Opposes Deep Cuts to American Diplomats."
The American Academy of Diplomacy issued a strong statement in opposition to the elimination of 15 percent of the State Department's workforce following the dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development and the haphazard reorganization of the State Department. These decisions will seriously undermine the US government's ability to conduct foreign policy.
NPR posted on 1 July 2025 a commentary titled "Farewell to USAID: Reflections on the Agency that President Trump Dismantled" by Ari Daniel.
This account emphasizes that the State Department is ill prepared to manage what is left of USAID programs now that the foreign aid agency has been formally abolished. The State Department has neither the staff nor skill sets needed to oversee emergency humanitarian programs.
The New York Times published on 22 June 2025 an article titled "What Remains of U.S.A.I.D.?" by Amy Schoenfeld Walker, Malika Khurana, and Christine Zhang.
The USAID projects that survived DOGE dismantlement of the agency are the result of pleas and negotiations of a few politically important people, many of whom had little experience in foreign aid. Some 891 programs constituting 14 percent of the previous total and $69 billion survived and will be administered by the State Department. DOGE cancelled USAID projects worth $76 billion over several years.
There was no comprehensive review of previous programs. The focus going forward is addressing acute disease, hunger, and other humanitarian emergencies. The State Department does not have the staff, resources, or expertise to oversee the programs that survived DOGE cuts.
The New York Times published on 22 June 2025 an article titled "Missteps, Confusion and 'Viral Waste': The 14 Days that Doomed USAID" by Christopher Flavelle, Nicholas Nehamas, and Julie Tate.
This is the detailed story of the 14 days that it took Elon Musk, the DOGE team, and the Trump administration to dismantle the US Agency for International Development.
The New York Times published on 30 May 2025 a commentary titled "Elon Musk's Legacy Is Disease, Starvation and Death" by Michelle Goldberg.
Elon Musk's DOGE terminated more than 80 percent of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) grants and dismantled the foreign aid agency. One estimate places the number of deaths as a result of these decisions already at 300.000. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insists there have been no deaths.
Comment: It is impossible to know how many deaths have occurred as a result of ending or cutting back USAID's life saving foreign aid programs. But anyone with extensive experience in the Global South, especially Africa, knows there have been deaths and the death rate will almost certainly increase going forward so long as these cuts remain in place.
American Diplomat podcast, hosted by Arizona State University, posted on 8 May 2025 a 40-minute program titled "Is the Chaos at State Over?" with Tibor Nagy, a retired career Foreign Service Officer who served as assistant secretary of state for African affairs in the first Trump administration and for the first three months of the current Trump administration as the acting undersecretary of state for management.
The podcast focused on reorganization and reform of the State Department and Foreign Service. The DOGE team showed up early in the administration before Secretary of State Marco Rubio's small staff could get their feet on the ground. This was followed by an avalanche of executive orders from the White House. Chaos followed. Rubio demonstrated his independence from DOGE early when he said State Department personnel did not have to respond to its request for a list of five things each employee had accomplished in the past week.
Tibor explained that USAID will be folded into the State Department, although many questions remain as to how its functions will be organized. He acknowledged that the way USAID was dismantled by DOGE was chaotic and heartless. There were initially huge screwups, but these have been largely overcome.
Tibor argues that the chaos is over in the State Department now that DOGE has moved on. He added that it makes sense to combine some of the functions that were previously done in separate offices. There was too much duplication and inefficiency.
When asked what the Department of State will look like at the end of the Trump administration, he thought it would be better prepared to deal with the foreign policy issues the United States faces in the 21st century. Artificial intelligence and new technology are changing the way the Department will operate and it is essential to adapt to the new situation.
When asked about closing embassies and consulates, Tibor said the US diplomatic presence should be as universal as possible but added it is not necessary to have an embassy everywhere. He suggested there is no need, for example, to have an embassy in Luxembourg, Sao Tome and Principe, and the Comoro Islands. Some embassies are overstaffed and can be reduced in size while others may be short staffed.
Tibor admitted that morale in the State Department at the beginning of this process was terrible, but suggested much of the uncertainty has been removed and morale is now much improved.
Comment: While there are clearly components of the State Department that need reorganization and reform, Tibor is far more optimistic than I am that the changes currently underway will by the end of the Trump administration result in a more efficient and effective foreign policy process.
The New York Times published on 9 May 2025 a commentary titled "The Wars We Still Can Stop" by Cameron Hudson, Center for Strategic and International Studies.
As the Trump administration steps back from the Horn of Africa and guts existing diplomacy tools, it raises the question whether Washington has abdicated its peacemaking role in the region. The author asks, "how many American warriors do we intend to commit to wars we could have stopped before they started?"
The Government Executive published on 9 May 2025 an article titled "State Department Cuts Poised to Be More Severe than Previously Outlined with 3,400 Employees on the Chopping Block" by Eric Katz and David Dimolfetta.
Beginning in early June, an estimated 3,400 civil and foreign service positions are expected to be cut at the State Department. The reduction in force (RIF) is not expected to affect the Bureau of Consular Affairs, which issues passports and visas to the public, but this means that about 20 percent of all other positions will be eliminated. The first round of cuts will only impact US domestic jobs. Overseas cuts are expected to occur later.
The Washington Post published on 2 May 2025 an article titled "After 100 Days, the Toll of Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts Has Begun to Sink In" by Sammy Westfall.
The Trump administration has axed more than 80 percent of the programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The administration is also in the process of slashing the U.S. African Development Foundation, U.S. Institute of Peace, Inter-American Foundation, and Millennium Challenge Corporation.
The article looks at the impact of these cuts on South Sudan, Ethiopia, Jordan, Tanzania, Eswatini, Lesotho, Afghanistan, and Yemen.
Comment: The administration is getting close to ending government-funded soft power, which has traditionally been a major U.S. foreign policy tool. Although they will not fill the financial void left by the United States, the governments of China and Russia will take very possible advantage of America's departure from these programs.
