The now-defunct USAID has been shorn of most of its staff, funds, and programs, and as of July 1, has officially been folded into the State Department. But the State Department itself is looking at deep losses, with reported plans to imminently strip thousands of employees of their jobs, triggering fears that the cuts will not only hobble U.S. diplomacy, but also what’s left of the country’s development efforts.
Reports indicate that State intends to fire 700 career diplomats, known as foreign service officers, or FSOs, and 1,300 civil service employees as part of a massive reorganization. But the plans have become mired in litigation, with the Trump administration turning to the Supreme Court to appeal a lower-court ruling that paused some of the proposed firings. An order could drop any day now.
In the meantime, questions, criticisms, and uncertainty abound.
About the author
Anna Gawel
Anna Gawel is the Managing Editor of Devex. She previously worked as the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, the flagship publication of D.C.’s diplomatic community. She’s had hundreds of articles published on world affairs, U.S. foreign policy, politics, security, trade, travel and the arts on topics ranging from the impact of State Department budget cuts to Caribbean efforts to fight climate change. She was also a broadcast producer and digital editor at WTOP News and host of the Global 360 podcast. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in College Park.
