Looking Sensible at the State Department Cuts
Byron York
On Friday, the Trump administration laid off about 1,350 employees at the State Department. A number of news reports described the staff cuts as "devastating." Others suggested the downsizing will endanger U.S. national security. The New York Times said the cuts "demote longtime U.S. values," while The Washington Post said they "will degrade America's standing in the world and curb U.S. soft power."
First, a little perspective. According to State Department documents, the total number of department employees has grown significantly over the years. In 2007, there were 57,340. By 2015, there were 72,895. By 2024, there were 80,214. That is an increase of 22,874 employees in the course of 17 years. After the addition of 22,874 employees, can a cut of 1,350 be "devastating"?
Nearly three months ago, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said big changes were coming. The hiring of thousands of new employees over the last decade and a half, Rubio said, not only made operations cumbersome and less efficient, but it also distracted from the department's core goals.
"In its current form, the department is bloated, bureaucratic and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission in this new era of great power competition," Rubio said in a statement on April 22. "Over the past 15 years, the department's footprint has had unprecedented growth, and costs have soared. But far from seeing a return on investment, taxpayers have seen less effective and efficient diplomacy. The sprawling bureaucracy created a system more beholden to radical political ideology than advancing America's core national interests."
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https://townhall.com/columnists/byronyork/2025/07/16/columnistsbyronyork20250715looking-sensibly-at-the-state-department-cuts-n2660428
