The State Department began firing more than 1,350 U.S.-based employees on Friday as the administration of President Donald Trump presses ahead with an unprecedented overhaul of its diplomatic corps, a move critics say will undermine U.S. ability to defend and promote U.S. interests abroad.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tour the Texas flood devastation and the State Department begins laying employees.

Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the diplomatic corps will undermine U.S. ability to defend and promote its interests abroad, critics say.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. State Department fired more than 1,300 employees on Friday in line with a dramatic reorganization plan from the Trump administration that critics say will damage America’s global leadership and efforts to counter threats abroad.

The post Trump Administration Reorg Prompts Over 1,300 State Department Layoffs appeared first on TheWrap. Executive privilege normally keeps White House communications secret. But both Trump and Biden waived the privilege during investigations of each other.

Over 1,300 people who worked as civil service and foreign service officers were fired on Friday as the Trump administration continues to slash the federal government.

Donald Trump likes to say he’s about America first. What we’re witnessing here is America in retreat,” Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen told HuffPost at a rally for 1,353 dismissed diplomats.

The department is sending layoff notices to 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers with domestic assignments in the United States, said a senior State Department official.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio insists he is streamlining a bloated department, but critics warn the cost to America’s standing and influence could be high.