The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) posted on 3 December 2025 a survey titled "At the Breaking Point: The State of the U.S. Foreign Service in 2025."
AFSA polled all of its active-duty members and received a response from 2,100 or about one-third of the total. The results reflect a crisis developing in the organization where I served for 37 years.
Some 86 percent of respondents said changes in the workplace since January 2025 have affected their ability to advance U.S. diplomatic priorities. A whopping 98 percent reported poor morale. Nearly one-third reported changing their career plans since January 2025.
