


The Supreme Court’s decision in the State Department’s layoff case could be decided as early as Friday and immediately be enacted due to Secretary of State Marco Rubio‘s July 1 layoff deadline.
The department was previously blocked by an order from a lower court because it intended to lay off thousands of people. The emergency appeal to the Supreme Court was filed after the block on June 13.
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The department is expected to lay off about 2,000 employees pending the decision, affecting a total of 3,400 jobs, as it will also consolidate and rearrange its divisions. About 60% of U.S.-based employees are expected to be put in foreign posts if the layoffs and rearrangements take effect within the coming weeks. According to Rudio, some of his reasoning for the layoffs includes “bloated bureaucracy” and some divisions becoming “radical.”
When California Judge Susan Illston issued the block, she asserted that any actions related to the department’s reorganization plans were prohibited. Rubio laid out those plans in April to select members of the press and then in more detail in late May.
The biggest division that will be cut is the Foreign Assistance and Humanitarian Affairs division, which is being cut by 69%. Almost all of the $9.4 billion being cut in the rescissions bill recently passed in the House falls under the authority of this division.
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Both sides of the aisle have had concerns about some of the changes. There has been bipartisan concern over the reshuffling of the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. Sources familiar with the matter told Politico that the branch would be split between three undersecretaries, and half of the current bureau would be moved to other divisions.
Since the department opened up about its plans, it has clashed with the American Foreign Service Association, which said it “unequivocally opposes” the changes.