ESSEX FILES: Draining the State Department Swamp Ushers In a New Age of Accountability

A few times in my life, I got the call to the office no one wants: my job was gone. One day, I was grinding away, providing for me and my family; the next, I was being told, "You're being let go," leaving my stomach in knots. But I didn’t wallow. I dusted off my resume, hit the pavement, and got back on the saddle, because that’s what Americans do: we adapt, we improvise, we overcome. 

So when I read that the State Department was cutting 1,300 jobs, I didn’t shed a tear for the bureaucrats, some of whom have been collecting paychecks since the Bush-Clinton years. Instead, I thought: welcome to the real world, folks. Time to learn to code. The State Department’s overhaul, announced last week, is a long-overdue reckoning for a bloated agency drowning in red tape. 

State Department cuts over 1,300 staffers as part of sweeping overhaul https://t.co/fxdN5aMkU9 pic.twitter.com/BONsB8W3sh

— New York Post (@nypost) July 11, 2025

Nearly 1,300 employees, 15 percent of its domestic workforce, will be laid off as part of a plan to cut 300-plus bureaus and streamline operations. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Malaysia, it’s a “very deliberate step to reorganize the State Department to be more efficient and more focused.” 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials took “a very deliberate step to reorganize the State Department to be more efficient and more focused.”

https://t.co/0MeSGWAdM2

— WALB News 10 (@WALBNews10) July 11, 2025

This isn’t just a trim; it’s a gut renovation to empower our embassies for “America First” diplomacy, not paper-shuffling in Washington’s swamp.

HAPPENING NOW!! Moving scene - tears, hugs, and cheers - inside the State Dept HQ tonight, as diplomats gathered in the lobby to clap out their laid off colleague, some of which have served for decades 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/kVT3lEUMP4

— Alex Raufoglu (@ralakbar) July 11, 2025

I know what it’s like to lose a job. It’s a kick in the pants, but it’s also a wake-up call. When I was laid off, I didn’t have a cushy government pension or a corner office to fall back on. I had bills, a family, and a fire in my belly to keep going. Contrast that with the career bureaucrats who’ve spent decades in cozy gigs, pushing memos and attending meetings that could’ve been emails. 

Oh no… not a 15% cut at the State Department!
How ever will we survive without 700 foreign service officers sending pointless memos and attending catered Zoom meetings?

Listen—I worked in government for 10 years.
Let me tell you something real:
There’s plenty of cutting that…

— Radically Right (@RadicallyRight_) July 11, 2025

A decade ago, leftists smirked at manufacturing workers like those in Ohio and Michigan, who lost jobs under Obama and Biden, telling them to “learn to code” like it was a cure-all. Now, the tables have turned. Maybe these diplomats should swap their coffee-stained memos for a coding bootcamp. If I can reinvent myself, so can they.

I remember when fired workers were told "learn to code."

— Roxanne Hoge (@RoxanneHoge) July 12, 2025

This shake-up isn’t just about numbers; it’s about values, efficiency, accountability, and putting America first. The State Department ditched its woke DEI hiring rules for a focus on “fidelity” to U.S. policy, ensuring our diplomats serve the nation, not elite agendas. Rubio’s plan consolidates redundant offices like three sanctions units into one and cuts programs misaligned with our priorities, like those pushing globalist ideologies. Taxpayers deserve a lean agency that fights for our interests, not one bloated with overlapping mandates. A Supreme Court ruling on July 8 cleared the way for these cuts, overturning a judge’s pause and signaling that the swamp-draining can proceed.

The Trump administration’s plan to slash waste and empower ambassadors is a blueprint for what government should be: accountable, efficient, and unapologetically American.

I got back on my feet because I refused to let a setback define me. Now, it’s the bureaucrats’ turn to face reality. Some will cry foul, claiming the cuts gut diplomacy, but efficiency is the real priority. 

Today's purging of State Dept. employees is a blow to our global influence. The impact will echo for years. We stand with the workforce & those who know that professional, non-partisan diplomacy isn't expendable. We won't stop fighting to defend it.
Read: https://t.co/lX6HZxBuYP pic.twitter.com/cNALsdIqfP

— AFSA (@afsatweets) July 11, 2025

The American Foreign Service Association whines that “our workforce is already stretched thin,” but Rubio’s right: a memo needing 40 sign-offs to reach his desk is no way to run a country. Great to see leaders who put America first, not careerists clinging to their desks like barnacles. 

Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it..

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