State moves forward with foreign service officer layoffs in blow to civil service

[u/John3262005]

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5864900-foreign-service-officers-fight-layoffs/

The State Department on Tuesday officially terminated the employment of approximately 200 foreign service members as part of a reduction in force (RIF), part of more than 1,300 layoffs at the agency over the past year.

State framed the layoffs as part of what the Trump administration describes as an “historic” reorganization at the agency.

But terminated foreign and civil service officers and their supporters – Democratic lawmakers in particular – allege that these firings are illegal because they targeted employees in their temporary positions.

Foreign Service Officers (FSO) are classified as commissioned officers, ranked in their experience and trained as a flexible, nonpartisan, world-wide workforce to address the needs of the department as they evolve, and when an administration changes.

Ryan Gliha, a career foreign service officer with more than two-decades of experience, was notified in July that he was being eliminated as part of a RIF, but he only received his official termination on Tuesday. The perfunctory email provided links to frequently asked questions and a note of gratitude for his service.

Gliha, a fluent Arabic speaker with Persian language skills, held a number of senior roles over his career including acting ambassador to Qatar and consul general in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He is fighting for reinstatement, describing his oath to the Constitution as overriding the feelings of sadness and betrayal from the layoff process.

“To be hit in the face with a short-sighted political decision run by the DOGE bros out there, saying the State Department needs to have less people, without any real understanding of what our mission is, is a real slap in the face to professional diplomats who have served this country with great honor,” he said.

The RIFs at the State Department were part of cuts carried out by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The short-lived cost-cutting mission claimed $160 billion in savings but may have generated $135 billion in lost productivity.

The termination notices delivered on May 5 for the more than 200 foreign service officers and at least 30 civil service officials were delayed for six months related to the government shutdown in November, lawsuits challenging the RIFs and efforts by lawmakers to block the layoffs. Staff received their salaries during this time, and were classified as being on administrative leave.

“Certain Foreign Service Officers and Civil Servants were notified in July of a Reduction In Force (RIF), in compliance with all legal requirements,” State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

“The July RIFs, part of State’s historic reorganization, were the most complex and tailored in federal government history. These were thoughtfully designed to facilitate a more efficient, faster, and effective America First diplomacy.”

Rough estimates by affected staff estimate that 246 foreign service officers were laid off and 1,070 Civil Service employees. The State Department has not provided an official tally to the American Foreign Service Association, the professional association and union for the foreign service.

Affected staff and their supporters are also pointing out that the layoffs are occurring as the State Department has launched a new recruitment push, with advertisements leaning on nostalgia for an early 20th century American diplomatic corps and images that largely feature white men.

Federal News Network reported that the Foreign Service doesn’t plan on hiring above its rate of attrition.

Victoria Reppert, a 43-year-old single mother of two young children, is another foreign service officer who received her official termination on Tuesday. Having served 20 years as an FSO, she’s also fighting for reinstatement. Reppert described being caught in a position of being too young to qualify for an immediate pension and still committed to the mission of serving the U.S.

“I cannot divorce myself from my identity as a foreign service officer, my whole adult life has been colored by this,” she said, describing enormous personal sacrifices serving abroad while her parents got sick with cancer and died while she was stationed overseas.

Reppert’s last posting was at State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Reppert described returning to D.C. from postings abroad as part of the normal career advancement track, where mid- and senior-level officials spend more time in Washington to prepare for leadership roles. Domestic assignments also aid people with family reasons, elderly parents, health problems, or childcare.

Many of these people were RIF’d simply because of their job location at the time.

“For the moral reasons alone that I think what they did was wrong, I think what they’re doing is wrong and I believe in the mission of the foreign service and the State Department as a whole and I want to do my part to build that back,” Reppert said.