State Department to axe 1,800 employees
An internal memo circulated Thursday evening by Michael Rigas, deputy secretary of management and resources, announced that domestic employees affected by the reduction in force (RIF) would be notified "over the coming days."
Approximately 1,800 people will be affected, Fox News has learned.
The RIF notices plus voluntary departures under the Trump administration amount to a 15% work force reduction.
"The departments, bureaus, offices and domestic operations have grown considerably over the last 25 years, and the resulting proliferation of bureaus and offices with unclear, overlapping or duplicative mandates have hobbled the department's ability to rapidly respond to emerging threats and crises or to effectively advance America's affirmative interests in the world," a senior State Department official said.
The official added that there are "more than 700 domestic offices for 18,000 people."
"A lot of this, as we said, covers redundant offices and takes some of these cross-cutting functions and moves them to the regional bureaus and to our embassies overseas, to the people who are closest to where diplomacy is happening, to empower them with the resources and authorities they need to be able to carry out the President's foreign policy."
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce warned on Thursday the agency would move quickly after the Supreme Court stayed the lower court's injunction blocking the administration from implementing widescale force reductions across federal agencies.
A senior official said there are currently no plans for overseas closures of embassies and outposts. They added the State Department will work to preserve the dignity of affected workers.
"We're going to work to preserve the dignity of federal workers," the official said. "We want to be sensitive to that process and make sure people have the resources they need … and make sure everyone is treated with dignity."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'There's never been a president that high!' the speaker of the House said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson dropped some jaws to the floor by suggesting Donald Trump is currently netting ratings that'd make a North Korean despot blush. 'The president is the most maligned and attacked political figure in the history of American politics,' he told CNBC. 'But he's also the most resilient. You see at the same time, his approval ratings are skyrocketing.' 'CNN had a story, I think a day or two ago, he was at 90 percent approval rating,' Johnson added. 'There's never been a president that high!'
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Buried in Trump's beautiful bill is a new $250 fee on travelers to the U.S. Estimates project it could cut the federal deficit by nearly $30 billion
A provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act states all visitors who need nonimmigrant visas to enter the U.S.—tourists, business travelers and international students, to name a few—must pay a 'visa integrity fee,' currently priced at $250. Travelers who comply with their visa conditions will be eligible for reimbursement. The provision is estimated to bring in $28.9 billion over the next decade. Visitors to the United States will need to pay a new fee to enter the country, according to the Trump administration's recently enacted bill. A provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act states all visitors who need nonimmigrant visas to enter the U.S.—tourists, business travelers and international students, to name a few—must pay a 'visa integrity fee,' currently priced at $250. The fee cannot be waived or reduced, but travelers are able to get their fees reimbursed, the provision states. All told, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the new fee could cut the federal deficit by $28.9 billion over the next ten years. During the same period, the CBO expects the Department of the State to issue about 120 million nonimmigrant visas. In 2023 alone, more than 10.4 million nonimmigrants were issued visas, according to DOS data. CBO expects a 'small number' of people will seek reimbursement, as many nonimmigrant visas are valid for several years. CBO also expects the Department of State would need several years to implement a process for providing reimbursements. Still, the fee could generate billions, the agency estimates. The fee is set at $250 during the U.S. fiscal year 2025, which ends Sept. 30, and must be paid when the visa is issued, according to the provision. The secretary of Homeland Security can set the current fee higher, the provision states. During each subsequent fiscal year, the fee will be adjusted for inflation. Those eligible for reimbursement are visa holders who comply with conditions of the visa, which include not accepting unauthorized employment or not overstaying their visa validity date by more than five days, according to the provision. Senior Equity Analyst at CFRA Research Ana Garcia told Fortune in an email she expects the 'vast majority' of affected travelers to be eligible for reimbursement, as historical U.S. Congressional Research Service data indicates that only 1% to 2% of nonimmigrant visitors overstayed their visas between 2016 and 2022. 'The fee's design as a refundable security deposit, contingent upon visa compliance, should mitigate concerns among legitimate travelers.' Garcia wrote. Reimbursements will be made after the travel visa expires, the provision said. Any fees not reimbursed will be deposited into America's Checkbook, or the General Fund of the Government. What's unclear is the effective date of the 'visa integrity fee.' Steven A. Brown, a partner at the Houston-based immigration law firm Reddy Neumann Brown PC, wrote in a post on his firm's website the fee's 'specific start dates have not yet been confirmed.' Brown points out that the fee is an add-on to others already required by U.S. travelers. 'For example, an H-1B worker already paying a $205 application fee may now expect to pay a total of $455 once this fee is in place,' Brown wrote. Most travelers are also required to pay a fee that comes with submitting a Form 1-94 arrival and departure record. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased this charge from $6 to $24. CFRA's Garcia expects demand to be unmoved by the fee, considering 'higher-income' consumers comprise the majority of international leisure and business travelers to the U.S. 'For affluent travelers, the additional $250 represents a manageable increment relative to overall trip costs,' Garcia wrote. 'The fee structure appears strategically designed to enhance compliance rather than broadly restrict travel.' This story was originally featured on Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Democrat Jena Nelson is challenging Stephanie Bice for Oklahoma City-area seat in Congress
In the wake of a loss to Republican Ryan Walters in the 2022 election for state superintendent, Democrat Jena Nelson has remained active in political circles, speaking at events and commenting on issues on social media. The self-described 'duck and chicken person' — who cares for those animals at her home in rural Logan County — announced on Saturday, July 19, that she's running again for office in 2026. But this time she'll campaign for Congress, seeking to succeed incumbent GOP Rep. Stephanie Bice. Nelson made her declaration during an event held at the fieldhouse at Millwood High School in northeast Oklahoma City, which she noted was the site of her final campaign stop in the 2022 state superintendent race. 'For me, it feels like unfinished business,' Nelson told The Oklahoman. 'Let's pick right back up where we left off. I ran last time to help people. I'm running again to help people, as well.' Nelson, who grew up in Broken Bow in far southeastern Oklahoma, first gained wide public notice in 2020 when she was named as the state's teacher of the year for her work at Deer Creek Middle School in northwest Oklahoma County. She has said she decided to enter politics in 2022 after writing what she said was her 30th job recommendation letter for yet another teacher leaving the profession. Like every other Democratic candidate for statewide office in 2022, she lost to her Republican opponent. But in Oklahoma County, the state's most populous, Nelson noted that she'd received more votes than any other candidate for any other office on the ballot, no matter the party. She secured 124,500 votes — more than Walters (96,282), Gov. Kevin Stitt (93,466) or Attorney General Gentner Drummond (123,851), among others. Oklahoma's Fifth Congressional District covers most of Oklahoma County, all of Lincoln County, Pottawatomie County and Seminole County, and parts of Logan and Canadian counties. In 2018, Democrat Kendra Horn knocked off then-GOP incumbent Rep. Steve Russell to earn a seat in Congress. Two years later, Bice downed Kendra Horn and has held the seat ever since, rolling past Democrat Madison Horn in the 2024 election by winning nearly 61% of the vote that November. Bice said then: 'You can never take this seat for granted. We saw what happens when you do in 2018. Republicans really didn't realize that there was a race, and we ended up losing the seat. I am proud to have fought hard to win this seat back, and my goal is to keep this seat Republican.' Nelson is encouraged by the district's recent electoral history as an increasingly purple pocket in a deeply red state and by the fact she fared so well there in a statewide race just three years ago. 'The Fifth District is very, very diverse. It is the most interesting district, because it is urban, it is rural and it is suburban,' Nelson said. 'I think that my experience in my life can speak to all three of those demographics, as well.' Social Security, federal jobs issues important to Jena Nelson Nelson listed her top issues as including the preservation of Social Security, along with health care programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and SoonerCare. Nelson also said she's passionate about keeping open rural hospitals in the district — she specifically mentioned facilities in Prague, Stroud and Guthrie. With Tinker Air Force Base located in the district, she said military and veterans' concerns also should be top of mind for any representative. 'When people talk about cutting federal jobs, these aren't just some bureaucrats, these are our neighbors,' Nelson said. 'These are people that are providing services important services for folks, even if they're answering the phone, you're answering the phone because maybe a veteran is in crisis or a young person is in a crisis. What we're doing is we're closing down lifelines to Oklahomans, and we can't do that. 'In addition to that, of course, I'm always going to be a proponent of education,' Nelson said. 'Right now, we know that there are millions of dollars being withheld at the federal level that need to get into our school systems, and we have a (U.S.) secretary of education that can't tell the difference between A1 and AI. I have a lot of background in education and I'm willing to go up there and fight to make sure that our schools get what they deserve.' Nelson acknowledged politics is an uphill battle for Democrats in a state in which they're outnumbered by Republicans by nearly two-to-one. All seven of Oklahoma's seats in Congress are held by Republicans, as are all 11 statewide elected offices in Oklahoma. The GOP also has supermajorities in both chambers of the Oklahoma Legislature. But, she said, if voters look beyond a candidate's party affiliation, they might like what they see. 'I would even say to people — get a chance to know me, not what you think that the letter beside my name represents, not what you think that about me through some kind of mailer or email or whatever they're going to put out,' Nelson said. 'But come to an event or come to a meet-and-greet and ask me the questions that you want to know (the answers to). I have always said that I will tell the truth.' This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Democrat Jena Nelson will try to unseat U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice Solve the daily Crossword
