Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne TillersonGary Cohn: 'I haven't made up my mind' on vote for president in November Kushner says 'Alice in Wonderland' describes Trump presidency: Woodward book Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE is reportedly poised to cut 2,300 diplomatic and civil servant positions from his agency.

The cuts represent about 9 percent of the agency's workforce and comes as Tillerson looks to fulfill President Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE's promise to reduce federal spending. The president signed an executive order last month aimed at making government "less wasteful."

About 1,700 of the jobs on the chopping block will be cut through attrition, while 600 others would be done through buyouts, Bloomberg News reported Friday. The cuts would occur over the next two years. Senior managers at the State Department were briefed on the plan Wednesday.

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Under Trump's budget proposal last month, the State Department would receive some of the deepest cuts, nearly 30 percent.

The department expanded significantly under the Obama administration. But diplomats and some lawmakers fear that the U.S. could lose influence around the world under the proposed cuts and have warned against divesting from soft power.

At the same time, Trump has called for increases in defense spending and has vowed to expand the military, which he argues had been "depleted" in recent years.