Washington, DC – In response to Secretary of State Rubio’s firing of over 1,300 State Department employees, Human Rights First President and CEO UZRA ZAYA said the following:
Non-partisan, selfless public service is the backbone of U.S. diplomacy that makes Americans safer, more prosperous, and secure. Secretary Rubio’s unjust and unprecedented firing of over 1,300 dedicated State Department public servants decimates U.S. diplomacy and weakens Americans’ well-being. Rather than retaining skills and expertise honed over decades, Rubio knee-capped American human rights and humanitarian leadership in one Friday morning massacre today. These mass layoffs mean abandonment of human rights reformers abroad who challenged dictators, termination of conflict resolution support that stopped wars, repudiation of U.S. humanitarian leadership that staved off famine, and more kleptocrats, war criminals, and human traffickers escaping justice. At the State Department, where I spent much of my career, the legions of workers kicked to the curb today are expected to include veterans, fluent linguists, policy visionaries, and shrewd negotiators who will no longer be promoting U.S. interests and values overseas. This is a happy day for autocrats and criminals alike, who are now freer to crack down on human rights, enjoy impunity, and foment conflict.
Donald Trump apparently believes that he, his family, and his cronies can flourish in an environment where the state’s capacity to function is degraded, following a long tradition of autocratic civil service purges from Russia to Turkey to Hungary. If Congress abdicates its responsibility to check him, the rest of us will be left to suffer the consequences. Members of Congress must use their oversight authority to demand transparency about these self-inflicted hits to U.S. national security and seek their reversal. In tandem, the Senate should reject the rescissions package that will further decimate U.S. human rights and humanitarian leadership, defy bipartisan directives, and leave a vacuum for U.S. adversaries to fill.
To speak with Zeya, please contact [email protected].
