The overall civilian workforce at the State Department shrunk roughly 6.3 percent between September 2016 and September 2017, according to OPM data. Though the plurality of departures came in foreign-affairs positions, the number of employees serving in administrative and legal jobs dropped 5.4 percent.

Though Neumann noted that every White House transition brings shake-ups in Foggy Bottom, it’s rare for job openings to stay empty this far into a new administration. In fact, the civilian workforce grew roughly 0.6 percent during the one-year transition from George W. Bush to Barack Obama and more than 3.4 percent during the move from Bill Clinton to Bush.

Lawmakers and diplomats have voiced concerns that State will meet significant proposed budget cuts with dramatic personnel reductions, but Tillerson said he will rely on attrition and buyouts rather than layoffs to thin the agency’s workforce. “We have not targeted any workforce reduction measures that would affect Civil Service Foreign Affairs Officers any differently than other Civil Service employees,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email.

Agency officials told Politico the rhetoric around reorganization has shifted from sweeping personnel cuts to upgraded technology and improved training.

Whether intended or not, Tillerson’s strategy has led to a disproportionate number of departures in the agency’s most experienced ranks. State saw 16.2 percent of civilian employees with 25 or more years of service leave between December 2016 and September 2017; the number of foreign-affairs series employees with at least 25-year tenures shrunk 13.1 percent during that period.

But while seasoned employees are walking out the door, few fresh faces are coming in. Tillerson has kept the Trump administration’s initial hiring freeze in place despite lawmakers’ pleas to end it. “You’re throwing out the people at the top, so you’re losing expertise,” Neumann said. “If you don’t bring in people at the bottom ... you’re setting up a long-term problem.”

The agency’s foreign-service workforce—which includes American diplomats and support staff—also shrank during the first year under Tillerson. Though its total size decreased only 1.2 percent, the drop was more drastic among those directly involved in policymaking.

The State Department lost 166 Foreign Service officers—roughly 2 percent of the total—from December 2016 to December 2017, according to agency data. Officers are responsible for most of the heavy lifting in political, economic, and diplomatic relations abroad, and while their numbers have declined, their support staff remains roughly the same size. The Foreign Service specialist corps—which performs IT, security, human resources and courier duties—has only experienced a net loss of four employees.

Neumann said the departures of professional diplomats and policy experts within the civilian workforce could potentially leave the country “vulnerable to bad deals,” particularly in highly technical areas.

“Other countries are represented by people who have a deep background in the issue … and you’re like the high school kid trying to pretend you’re in college,” he added.

This post appears courtesy of Government Executive.

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