The U.S. Department of State is too bureaucratic, insular, and disconnected from the American people to meet today’s global challenges. For those reasons, Secretary Rubio announced a reduction in force and a broader reorganization of the department in July. These reforms should inspire hope in those wishing to enter a career in diplomacy and international relations. Above all, they need to be worthy of the American people’s trust and confidence. One hopes this is just the beginning of reforms that will create a State Department that is prepared for conflict around the world, agile in crisis, deliberate in strategy, and effective in delivering results for the American people.

Secretary Rubio’s reforms reflect the spirit of Harry S. Truman, namesake of the State Department’s headquarters. The last U.S. president without a college degree, Truman was born in the rural Missouri Ozarks in the small town of Lamar and raised outside Kansas City, Missouri. From humble beginnings, he learned the value of grit, service, and earning one’s keep—a reflection of Midwestern values.

Truman is remembered for the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the creation of NATO, recognizing Israel, and helping to found the United Nations—policies and actions that helped shape the Cold War order that is now giving way to a new era. Like many from his background, he harbored a deep dislike for Washington, D.C., often feeling unwelcome despite years of service, professional success, and lasting friendships. I maintain a similar love-hate relationship with our nation’s capital.

The irony is unmistakable: the State Department’s headquarters bears the name of a man whose kind it has long resisted serving, defending, or hiring. Today, however, we face a rare moment—driven by global urgency—that offers an opportunity to finally change this paradigm.

That is why Secretary Rubio’s reforms must be expanded across the entire department. By embracing Professionalism, Excellence, Accountability, Community, and Empowerment (PEACE) and elevating the builders within State, internal resistance can be overcome, credibility can be restored, and America’s ability to lead in an era of global conflict can be strengthened.

Status Quo by Design

For decades the State Department has been experiencing bureaucratic resistance, which takes many forms. As outlined by organizations like DemocracyAID, tactics include quiet quitting, withholding or limiting information sharing, excluding certain personnel from key meetings, stonewalling paper clearances, and conflict avoidance, including brushing off individuals who are perceived to be unaligned with specific political imperatives. These are not simply ideological acts of opposition—though politics plays a role—but are symptoms of a much deeper problem: decades of poor management, a lack of accountability, and a culture that prioritizes equal outcomes over equal opportunity and merit-based advancement.

Long before the Biden-Harris Administration’s short-sighted, politicized approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the department had already grown insular, disconnected, and unrepresentative of the citizens it serves. Persistent derogatory attitudes toward Republicans, working-class Americans, people of faith (including Christians), rural communities, and those without a college degree have harmed employees from these backgrounds and eroded State’s ability to represent the broader American public and our national interests. This includes Main Street’s interests—not just those of Hollywood, Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and the Ivory Tower. Many colleagues, peers, and even mentors from these groups came to believe this hostility was meant to drive them out. They were likely right.

This culture has taken a heavy toll on morale and execution. Even under the previous administration, senior Biden officials quietly questioned whether the State Department was truly capable of conducting modern diplomacy. It was not uncommon for colleagues at the White House to ask without irony, “Does State do diplomacy?” The department was viewed as bloated, unresponsive, and incapable of fulfilling its core constitutional responsibilities. While officials may deny this publicly—federal employees remain a core political constituency—many would privately acknowledge deep dysfunction and a need for reform.

The challenge now is whether political leadership on both sides of the aisle is willing to act. Secretary Rubio has signaled his intent to make the difficult decisions necessary to modernize the department. That task will be far more effective—and more lasting—if it is met with bipartisan support. Fixing the State Department should not be a partisan issue. It is a national security imperative.

One place to start is returning to Missouri-inspired values like the ones President Truman brought to the White House. The State Department should look to model their reforms on the College of the Ozarks, a federally recognized work college that grounds its mission in five core areas: academics, religion, culture, vocation, and patriotic growth. These values reflect the beliefs of a broad swath of Americans—many of whom have too often been dismissed or ignored by the national security establishment. They have served the Ozarks well and could serve the nation well in a time of need.

PEACE

Ensuring that State effectively and objectively serves the American people while moving at the “speed of relevance” requires creating a new code and new core values. This is our moment to forge a department guided by the character of the American statesman and stateswoman.

Professionalism: U.S. diplomats should be patriots who conduct themselves with competence and respect while faithfully advancing U.S. national interests and exemplifying the highest standards of public service at home and abroad. State Department leaders must model integrity, discipline, and openness to differing viewpoints; evaluate and communicate their teams’ perspectives objectively and without bias; and foster a culture of candor. By encouraging constructive conflict and providing space for grievances to be aired, leaders create an environment where people feel heard—one that ultimately strengthens the team’s effectiveness and finds the best solutions.

Excellence: The builders and doers who are delivering every day (and not just on non-mental health days) for the secretary and the president should be the model for all personnel. I firmly believe these individuals represent the majority of my colleagues serving at home and abroad. These are the innovators and patriots, and they deserve internal and public recognition. Restarting the internal awards process while partnering with the Ben Franklin Fellowship to launch privately funded recognitions, as the State Department has done for other groups, would be a powerful way to reignite excellence.

Accountability: Leadership at the top—especially from the 7th floor—needs to direct senior career officials to hold underperformers accountable. This may require overcoming reluctance from officials who are waiting for future career opportunities or avoiding their core responsibilities. Meanwhile, reform-minded employees—the silent majority—remain under scrutiny, and there is little accountability for those who leak, underperform, or resist implementing the policies of the president. The 7th floor must not only authorize reform but also drive it forward with urgency.

Community: It is time to rebuild a culture that’s anchored in the renewed core values that can sustain the department’s authority as the premier foreign affairs agency, one that’s worthy of the trust and confidence of our diplomats and their families serving abroad. Equally important is restoring the State Department’s credibility by confronting its insular, ineffective, and often disconnected approach to domestic concerns and the interests of the citizens we serve.

One way to develop our community is a limited relaunch of employee organizations aligned with administration priorities. When managed well, these groups boost morale, encourage dialogue with leadership, and showcase the department’s commitment to all Americans, including working-class families, Christians, and veterans. My experience founding FirstGens@State in 2022—which has grown to 700 members and has advanced recruitment, mentorship, and retention—proves the value of such employee organizations. Unlike identity-based models, FirstGens@State members bring unique American experiences, grit, and patriotism that better inform discussions around U.S. national interests and strengthen the understanding of the global majority.

Empowerment: Great leadership means giving your team the freedom to act without offloading responsibilities. Therefore, power should be delegated to subordinates to make decisions, and they—as well as leadership—should be held accountable for outcomes. The 7th floor should actively promote a culture that rewards courage, leadership, hard work, teamwork, innovation, and calculated risk-taking. That includes expanding access to professional development, senior responsibilities, and face time with department and White House leadership. The 7th floor must become comfortable providing the authority to act, but never shed the responsibility for the mission’s success or failure—otherwise, the status quo will return.

The Way Forward  

External stakeholders play a significant role, should they choose diplomacy and collaboration around shared interests. Together, the American Foreign Service Association, the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Ben Franklin Fellowship, and other similar organizations can speak with a unified voice to drive change at the department. But division prevents these ideas from reaching fruition.

So far, public statements from some of these groups’ members have reflected vitriol and incivility. Academy member and former AFSA President Eric Rubin said the following about BFF on Trailing House’s Facebook community page: “Foreign Service friends and colleagues: know thy enemy. ‘All enemies, foreign and domestic.’” (This post appears to have been taken down since it was posted earlier this year.)

How can U.S. Foreign Service members take your organization seriously if you do not set a tone for constructive dialogue and demonstrate a willingness to engage in good faith? The silent majority within the department needs establishment senior diplomats and civil servants to step up and perform far better. It’s time to grow up.

In our present environment, high-performing State Department professionals—and ultimately the American people—bear the heaviest burden. They compensate for obstructionists while navigating subtle relational aggression and peer surveillance. This includes staff who increasingly face reputational attacks, doxing, and tactics that are more typical of civil conflict than a workplace. The world isn’t waiting for the State Department to get its act together. Foreign adversaries are watching—and exploiting—our division. Reform cannot be parked on the runway. We have to fly the plane, fix it midair, and be ready for the long-haul journey ahead.