State Department cyber, tech cuts deeper than previously known

Politico

17-07-2025

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's subcommittee on cybersecurity, said he was aware of a number of cuts of staff with specific and hard-to-replace skills.
'They have lost people with genuine expertise … in cyber, in 5G, in quantum, a whole group of people who had really exquisite skills,' Coons said. Asked to quantify the extent of cuts to the cybersecurity workforce, Coons said: 'My impression is: significant.'
The cuts to cyber and tech roles at State have gone beyond the CDP. Also laid off have been staff involved in ensuring the use of secure telecommunications infrastructure by allies; and those that worked to fix problems Cyber Command identifies in the networks of U.S. allies, said Annie Fixler, director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, who has been in contact with a number those laid off.
The congressional aide said that 'around half a dozen' of the staff from the Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technologies — which works on topics including AI and quantum computing — were given RIF notices, representing a 'sizeable proportion' of the small office. This aide said this office is now being merged into the CDP.
It has become increasingly clear over the past few days that the reorganized State Department will have very few cybersecurity positions.
The Washington Post first reported earlier this week that CDP personnel had been among those laid off, in particular those on teams that focus on global data policy.
The former official confirmed that Liesyl Franz, the CDP's deputy assistant secretary for International Cyberspace Security was among those laid off. Her departure was previously reported by NextGov. Franz did not respond to a request for comment.
The entire Office of Science and Technology Cooperation has also been shut down, according to a laid-off employee. Felicia Fullilove-Cashwell, a foreign affairs officer at the State Department, wrote on LinkedIn that her reduction in force letter included the words 'office abolished.'
Fullilove-Cashwell said in an interview that 'it has been suggested that regional offices may take over a lot of the functions of eliminated offices,' though she argued that eliminating OSTC still hurts the relationships between civil servants and foreign officials. The elimination of OSTC was previously reported by FedScoop.