FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 06, 2026
May 06, 2026
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-374-6491
[email protected]
AFGE Vows to Fight Termination of State Department Employees
Categories:
DOS
Trump administration separates more than 200 Foreign Service and civil service workers in latest round of damaging cuts
WASHINGTON – The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which currently represents more than 6,500 civil service employees at the Department of State, is speaking out after the Trump administration separated more than 200 Foreign Service officers and 20 civil service employees on Tuesday – the latest round of cuts targeting diplomats and career federal workers at the department.
AFGE Local 1543 President Mike Henning issued the following statement:
“AFGE Local 1534 will continue to pursue every opportunity to fight for the reinstatement of the civil servants laid off due to last year’s disastrous reorganization at the Department of State, including more than 20 of our members who were separated Tuesday. This is the latest round of cuts to the federal workforce responsible for diplomacy.
“The career civil and foreign service at the State Department is the foundation of American diplomacy, with irreplaceable expertise and institutional knowledge. These layoffs are particularly appalling since the department continues to hire new staff and contractors, as our colleagues at the American Foreign Service Association have pointed out.
“On top of the 1,350 civil service separated in 2025, the department is again losing dedicated national security experts with decades of experience protecting American interests abroad.
“These layoffs continue to demonstrate that the Trump administration is not committed to a merit-based federal workforce. AFGE Local 1534 urges Congress to defend the civil service employees, whose labor rights have been trampled by this administration.”
AFGE National President Everett Kelley issued the following statement:
“The State Department is firing experienced AFGE members while hiring other people to do the exact same work. That is not reform. That is an end-run around the civil service protections this country put in place for a reason.
“These are dedicated public servants who spent their careers serving the American people, and AFGE is going to fight for them in court, in Congress, and at every level until every one of them is made whole.”
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