Well, grab your popcorn — the swamp is draining, and some folks are finally getting the memo. The State Department is about to undergo what polite bureaucrats like to call a “reduction in force,” but let’s not sugarcoat it. Over 1,500 employees are getting the pink slip, courtesy of a Supreme Court decision and a Trump administration that’s clearly had enough of the slow-moving, bloated machinery that’s been chewing up taxpayer dollars for decades.
Yes, you read that right.
After years of bureaucratic inertia, pointless task forces, and memos about memos, the State Department is about to get hit with the biggest overhaul it’s seen in generations — and it’s not because they asked nicely. It’s because the Supreme Court finally cleared the path for President Trump to do what he said he would do all along: make government smaller, faster, and actually useful.
And right on cue, the notice went out Thursday night, quietly dropped into inboxes across Foggy Bottom like a digital thunderclap. Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Michael Rigas delivered the message that makes career lifers sweat: “Reduction in Force” is happening. Not hypothetically. Not in five years. Now.
No early resolution. No committee delays. No endless reviews.
This comes after years of conservative calls to chop down the forest of useless middle managers and politicized diplomats who spend more time curating their LinkedIn bios than actually advancing U.S. interests. For too long, the State Department has been a breeding ground for sluggish responses, ideological activism, and an ever-growing staff that somehow accomplishes less and costs more every year.
Enter Secretary Marco Rubio, who — say what you will — didn’t come to play patty-cake. He’s leading the charge on what’s being described as the most significant reorganization in modern memory. And he’s not hiding behind bureaucratic niceties. Rubio made it plain: domestic operations at State have “grown exponentially,” creating a maze of redundancy and inefficiency that would make even the IRS blush.
🚨 BREAKING: State Department personnel get ready for MAJOR layoffs as soon as Friday – Semafor
This comes as a result of the SUPREME COURT greenlighting President Trump’s major downsizing of the federal government.
THOUSANDS could now leave. Make it happen, Mr. Rubio! pic.twitter.com/mmFjgDqiUS
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 10, 2025
So what’s the plan?
Focus the Department’s mission. Slash the bloat. Fire the underperformers. Prioritize results. Sounds refreshing, right?
But brace yourself — because the backlash is going to be fierce.
This isn’t just about reorganizing floor plans or consolidating job titles. It’s a direct assault on a comfortable status quo that’s been protected for decades by layers of civil service insulation. And you can bet the same politicians who talk about “modernizing government” when it suits them will suddenly scream “authoritarianism!” now that it’s actually happening.
And what will they do? Rally the unions. File lawsuits. Call CNN. Predict doomsday.
But here’s what they won’t do: explain why we’ve needed all these extra layers of government to begin with.
Because let’s be honest — when was the last time anyone walked away from an international crisis and said, “Wow, good thing we had 14 layers of Deputy Assistant Policy Coordinators on that one”?
Rubio’s approach isn’t some wild-eyed purge. It’s what any business would call a long-overdue audit. Are we really pretending that a leaner, faster, results-driven State Department is a bad thing?
And if this is just the beginning… what other departments are about to feel the heat?
