Threats

Defense civilians, other feds abroad fret about making rent during shutdown

Some employees say their foreign landlords have little sympathy for their “U.S. issue.”

  • Eric Katz
Policy

Shortly after laying off hundreds, State hires new class of foreign service staff

The firing-hiring combo is "the definition of wasteful government spending,” according to one staffer.

  • Eric Katz
Ideas

This isn’t how wars are ended: a veteran diplomat puts Trump-Putin summit in context

Hastily convened without Ukrainian input, the summit is "amateurish and is unlikely to yield real results," says Donald Heflin, now a Tufts professor.

  • Donald Heflin and Naomi Schalit, The Conversation
Ideas

Trump's terror-prevention cuts leave Americans exposed

Since February, at least five government offices devoted to countering violent or terrorist groups have been slashed or shuttered.

  • Kris Inman, The Conversation
Threats

The D Brief: AI for shipbuilding; Database of covert contractors?; Israel’s new airstrikes in Syria; State Department drops Ukraine analysts; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Audrey Decker
Policy

Mass layoffs are imminent, State Department tells employees

The diplomatic agency is poised to be the first to move forward with SCOTUS-blessed RIFs.

  • Eric Katz
Ideas

How to restart nuclear diplomacy with Iran

Tehran is weakened, but hardly neutralized.

  • Jesse Marks
Threats

The D Brief: Hegseth’s no-show; Ukraine’s lesson to the world; Space Force budget cut?; Border-mission mystery; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Policy

Ready, slash, aim: USAID-State merger proceeding without key plans, IG finds

State set hiring goals without a strategy, began the merger without finishing the plan, and is slated to dismiss an oversight board before the effort is complete, the inspector general found.

  • Sean Michael Newhouse
Threats

The D Brief: Aid cuts hinder AFRICOM; Fighter-jet warning; State cuts, detailed; Army’s recruiting success; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
Policy

New plans detail State Department layoffs and changes

National-security offices and units that cover Asia and the Middle East will be consolidated or slashed as thousands of employees are laid off.

  • Eric Katz and David DiMolfetta
Threats

The D Brief: State’s cuts; Trans ban, in effect; Concerns about Army plan; B-52s join B-2s; And a bit more.

  • Bradley Peniston and Ben Watson
Exclusive Policy

State Department plans deeper-than-anticipated staff cuts

Some 3,400 jobs are now expected to be eliminated starting on June 2, up from around 2,000.

  • Eric Katz and David DiMolfetta
Threats

The D Brief: More loose lips; Troops get detention powers; State’s coming cuts; Primes’ aircraft plans; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Breaking News Policy

State to slash 15% of domestic staff, eliminate 132 offices

Layoffs are expected by July 1. No overseas posts are yet affected.

  • Eric Katz
Policy

US to allies: Don’t use Chinese satellite services

Internal talking points also give State Department officials guidance on responding to concerns about SpaceX’s Starlink.

  • Audrey Decker and David DiMolfetta
Threats

The D Brief: State of Defense, service by service; US strikes Yemen port; DEI is out at DOD; Shakeup week for OSD; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Lauren C. Williams
Threats

Shuttering of State office leaves US largely defenseless against foreign influence warfare, officials say

‘This is how we lose big wars,’ one former researcher said of the larger effort to eliminate or dismantle organizations that monitor and counter disinformation.

  • Patrick Tucker
Threats

The D Brief: Russian missiles kill 34 in Ukraine; Trump lashes out at CBS; Breakthrough in robotics?; Naval autonomy today; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Patrick Tucker
Threats

The D Brief: Trump blames Kyiv for war; DOGE at Pentagon; Uncertainty at SDA; State’s Afghan-resettlement office at risk; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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