Democrats Urge Rubio to Not Fire Diplomats, End Hiring Freeze

Scores of congressional Democrats are urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to abandon plans to shrink the State Department workforce, end a hiring freeze and resume offering the Foreign Service Officer Test three times a year.

Sixty House lawmakers, led by Representative Don Beyer of Virginia, wrote that reports the Trump administration plans to terminate 700 Foreign Service officers currently assigned within the US would deprive the country of much-needed expertise at a time when diplomats are particularly needed.