'2,000 US diplomats forced out': Mass departure raises concern about State Department capacity

The departure of around 2,000 US diplomats through layoffs and forced retirements over the past year has raised concerns among current and former officials about the loss of institutional knowledge, diplomatic expertise, and crisis-response capabilities within the State Department, a report says.

According to the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the diplomats who have left the Foreign Service took with them decades of experience and highly specialized language skills, NBC News reported on Sunday.

The departures come as the United States faces multiple foreign policy challenges around the world, it added.

Among those who left is Kelly Adams-Smith, a career diplomat who served for nearly three decades and was nominated as ambassador to Moldova in 2024. Her nomination was later withdrawn by the Donald Trump administration.

"My job, and the people who left with me, they had more runway. They had expected to serve in those mentoring and leadership roles, and so it was devastating," Adams-Smith said. "But I also felt that there was not a place for me in the department anymore, and that I really didn’t have a choice."

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Former diplomats interviewed by NBC News said that the loss of experienced personnel has weakened the department’s ability to respond to crises and protect US interests abroad.

'Long-term impact'

Elizabeth Horst, who served in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and several European countries, said the impact could be significant.

"So, when there’s a crisis, we just don’t have the infrastructure we used to have to make sure that Americans overseas stay safe, and that frankly, our business interests are protected," Horst said. "It’s that day-to-day commerce that lots of American jobs rely on, and people don’t feel that immediately, but it is going to have a long-term impact."

The report said numerous ambassadorial posts remain vacant, including in Moldova, Ukraine, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to AFSA data cited by NBC News, nearly 100 US embassies are operating without Senate-confirmed ambassadors, representing more than half of US missions worldwide.

Many diplomatic posts continue to be overseen by career officers serving as chargés d’affaires.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott, however, defended the department and its workforce.

"The department relies on professionalism, experience, and service of both Foreign Service Officers and Civil Service employees to advance American interests around the world," Pigott said.

"Career personnel serve administrations of both parties and implement the foreign policy of the elected government. The department remains confident in the strength, capability, and professionalism of its workforce to carry out its mission at home and abroad," he added.

The report also highlighted criticism from former officials regarding changes to personnel policies and the limited role of senior career diplomats in some high-level negotiations.

Former ambassador John Bass said there was "an organized effort to strip the career, professional workforce of experienced leaders."

Despite concerns over the departures, Adams-Smith encouraged young Americans to continue pursuing diplomatic careers.

"We need a pipeline of well-trained, educated, nonpartisan professionals coming into the foreign service, we always need that," she said. "I would hate for young people who dream of a career in public service, to not do that at this moment, because we need them. Desperately."

Observers commenting on the report also cited what they viewed as a broader reliance during Trump's current and former presidencies on close associates, including business executives and political confidants, for senior government roles.

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