
State Department is firing more than 1,300 staff on Friday, internal memo says
CNN
The State Department is firing more than 1,300 people on Friday as part of a dramatic overhaul of the agency, according to an internal notice seen by CNN.
The State Department is firing more than 1,300 people on Friday as part of a dramatic overhaul of the agency, according to an internal notice seen by CNN. The firings will affect 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service officers, the notice said. It comes as the State Department implements a drastic reorganization as part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to shrink the federal government. Hundreds of offices and bureaus are being eliminated or altered as a result of the changes. “Nearly 3,000 members of the workforce will depart as part of the reorganization,” the notice said. That number includes people who are being fired as well as those leaving voluntarily. “In connection with the Departmental reorganization first announced by the Secretary of State on April 22, 2025, the Department is streamlining domestic operations to focus on diplomatic priorities,” the notice said. “Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and offices where considerable efficiencies may be found from centralization or consolidation of functions and responsibilities.”

The Justice Department’s leadership asked career prosecutors in Florida Tuesday to volunteer over the “next several days” to help to redact the Epstein files, in the latest internal Trump administrationpush toward releasing the hundreds of thousands of photos, internal memos and other evidence around the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The US State Department on Tuesday imposed visa sanctions on a former top European Union official and employees of organizations that combat disinformation for alleged censorship – sharply ratcheting up the Trump administration’s fight against European regulations that have impacted digital platforms, far-right politicians and Trump allies, including Elon Musk.











