Former American diplomats denounce a project that will make America “less safe and less secure”.
The State Department began this Friday, July 11, the dismissal procedures of more than 1,350 agents based in the United States on Friday, July 11, according to President Donald Trump’s wish, who intends to reform the American diplomatic body in depth.
1,107 public service agents are concerned and 246 agents of the external service, according to an internal notification of the State Department sent to the staff and consulted by Reuters.
This reshuffle is part of an unprecedented campaign by President Donald Trump aimed at reducing federal bureaucracy And to remedy what he considers a waste of taxpayers money.
“The Department rationalizes national operations in order to focus on diplomatic priorities,” read.
“Effective discounts have been carefully adapted to affect non -essential functions, redundant posts, and services where considerable efficiency gains can be found,” added the document.
According to the notification and a senior official of the State Department, the total reduction in the workforce will be around 3,000 people, including voluntary departures, out of the 18,000 employees based in the United States.
Strong criticism
Former diplomats believe that the dismissal of external service agents could weaken Washington’s ability to deal with the growing assertion of rival powers like Russia and China.
This will make America “less safe and less secure”, strongly criticized the Democratic Senator of Virginia, Tim Kaine.
“It is one of the most ridiculous decisions that can be made at a time when China increases its diplomatic imprint in the world and establishes a network of bases
Military and transport abroad, where Russia has continued its brutal assault against a sovereign country for years and where the Middle East goes from crisis to crisis, “added the senator.
In February, President Donald Trump ordered the Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reorganize the external service to guarantee the “faithful” implementation of his foreign policy and have repeatedly promised to “clean up the deep state” by returning the officials he deems unfair.