Secretary of State Marco Rubio began mass firings at the State Department on Monday, part of a reorganization plan to form a leaner foreign policy force that, he argues, will allow the United States to respond more nimbly by removing layers of bureaucracy.

The department sent reduction in force (RIF) notices Friday morning to about 1,100 civil servants and 250 foreign service officers stationed in the U.S., with plans to cut its workforce further.

Staff were directed to report to the office Friday along with their laptops, telephones, diplomatic passports and any other property of the department.

The move prompted heavy pushback from Democrats and former diplomats who contended that by downsizing its diplomatic footprint the administration is putting national security at risk.

Rubio, who is also President Trump’s national security adviser, unveiled a reorganization plan for the State Department in April, with plans to get rid of 132 offices and fold 137 other offices within the department.

The U.S.’s top diplomat said Thursday the layoffs are a “very deliberate step to reorganize the State Department to be more efficient and more focused.”

“It’s not a consequence of trying to get rid of people. But if you close the bureau, you don’t need those positions. Understand that some of these are positions that are being eliminated, not people,” Rubio told........

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