State Department cuts hit cyber diplomats doing international engagements

Staff within the State Department’s principal cyber diplomacy bureau were among those impacted by an agency-wide downsizing of around 1,350 positions announced at the end of last week.

The Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy lost multiple staffers working in bilateral engagement and communications strategy matters, according to one current and one former U.S. official familiar with the plans and an unofficial tally of agency-wide reduction numbers obtained by Nextgov/FCW.

Liesyl Franz, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Cyberspace Security, was also affected, though details of her status remain unclear. Franz was handed an official termination notice, according to the current U.S. official and a second person familiar with the matter. But the former U.S. official says she was put on administrative leave.

Franz, who has over 20 years of cyber policy experience, did not respond to a request for comment. All people for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to communicate sensitive details about the status of the bureau and its employees.

CDP’s Office of Bilateral and Regional Affairs lost about five people, comprising around half the team, according to the current and former official and the list of impacted offices. The bilateral engagement unit is housed under a larger office in CDP that leads U.S. efforts on international digital policy. It also helps shape U.S. positions in global technology engagements and can serve as the nation’s point of contact for international communications policy.

Two foreign service officers in the bureau’s Strategy, Programs and Communications office were affected, including its deputy director. That office manages the bureau’s digital foreign aid programs and handles strategic planning, public outreach, media and congressional affairs.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s reorganization, first announced in April, hit a legal roadblock after a district court blocked the layoffs. But the Supreme Court reversed that pause last week for the State Department and most federal agencies, allowing the cuts to proceed.

That April reorganization moved CDP under the agency’s Economic Growth office. CDP was meant to become a larger bureau focused on science and technology affairs, but those plans have been hampered by last week’s reductions, the former official said. 

Initially, CDP was expected to absorb staff from the State Department’s Office of Science and Technology Cooperation, as well as staff from the Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology. But those offices have now been largely eliminated, the former official said. Among the personnel CDP had been poised to take on were AI specialists and PhD-level scientists focused on quantum computing.

The Washington Post on Monday first reported certain details of the terminations that affected CDP, including the loss of those scientists and other experts.

CDP has led dozens of overseas initiatives aimed at rejuvenating U.S. diplomacy for the digital era. It’s also taken a leading role in confronting China over its cyber intrusions targeting U.S. critical infrastructure.

It was formerly helmed by Nate Fick until his departure in January. Since Fick’s exit, Jennifer Bachus has served as acting lead. The bureau has remained active in areas like spyware containment agreements with partner nations.

The former official said the cuts would slow the nation’s ability to position its technology priorities on the world stage.

“When you’re talking about cybersecurity and digital policy, all of those things break down borders. They’re not commodities that we’re trading, so you have to work together with your partners to get anything done on those issues. Not having a unit in place that is poised to do that — yeah, we’re certainly going to fail at that,” the ex-official said.

The loss of specialists in key technology fields — who could be making significantly more money in the private sector — will be especially harmful, they added. 

“To cut all of that, I think, is just such a lack of foresight, and will harm the United States in the long run and really deplete our ability to engage thoughtfully in these areas,” they said. 

State Department spokespeople have said the cuts are necessary to streamline operations, eliminate redundancies and realign the agency’s workforce with evolving foreign policy priorities.

Government Executive Senior Correspondent Eric Katz contributed to this report.