62 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL STATE VP VOICE | BY ROHIT NEPAL AFSA NEWS Contact: nepal@afsa.org Breaking State? January is usually a time to think about new beginnings, but I’m not quite there yet. Last year was brutal for the State Department, certainly the darkest in my 23 years as a Foreign Service officer. The challenges we faced have me looking backward, thinking about the state of the department and the Foreign Service. After all, we need to understand where we are before we can chart a way forward. It’s been hard to wrap my mind around the damage and cruelty of the past year. I think of the more than 100 USAID staff, both American and Jordanian, whom I had to look in the face and explain the unexplainable decisions being made in Washington. I remember the entry-level officers asking whether they would be fired because they weren’t tenured. Back in Washington, a panicked mentee asked me if references to DEIA in their previous employee evaluation reviews would doom their chances. It pained me to hear them worrying about whether they’d be punished for doing what they had been told to do. All this while seeing so many of my mentors being shown the door. Some of you may be thinking: “It can’t be that bad; transitions are always tough.” Don’t take my word for it. AFSA’s 2025 “State of the Foreign Service” survey, which was released in December (see full story on page 61), includes input from more than 2,100 active-duty State Department personnel, illuminating the grim reality. A staggering 98 percent of respondents reported poor morale in the department. We’ve never seen numbers like this in any of our previous member surveys. Almost one-third of respondents said they have changed their career plans since January 2025. Measurements of morale and employee satisfaction can reflect a variety of factors, including some outside leadership’s control. But it is safe to say these results tell us something is seriously wrong. Why has morale cratered in the past year? For starters, we’re a mission-oriented Service. We thrive on getting things done. We’re frustrated because we feel like the changes of the past year have stopped us from delivering results for the American people. Of our members, 86 percent said policy changes implemented since January 2025 have hindered their ability to implement U.S. foreign policy, while only 1 percent reported any improvement. The survey shows that the destruction of USAID (which gutted our development and humanitarian assistance capabilities), rapidly declining budgets, and the marginalization of public diplomacy tools, among other things, have all contributed to the sense that we are losing ground at a time of growing global challenges. The rapid politicization of the Foreign Service is also dragging down morale and preventing diplomatic advancements that help our fellow citizens. Of the growing number of our ranks who are reconsidering whether to remain in the Service, 65 percent cited politicization as their reason for leaving, while 45 percent feared being personally targeted. For the first time in my career, colleagues worry that their personal political views, political contributions, or social media profiles might preclude them from getting their next assignment. Instead of focusing on doing good work, colleagues are worried they’ll face prejudice for the work they did in a previous administration, such as working on refugee issues or participating in department-sponsored DEIA activities. Even more troubling is the widespread feeling that Foreign Service members need to join organizations with the “right” political orientation to get ahead. Not long after we collected survey answers, the longest government shutdown in history kicked off. Many of us have been through shutdowns before, and we remember the department sending politically neutral messages about them, as the Hatch Act requires. This year, those previously neutral communications took on a vicious and partisan tone, blaming one party and further reinforcing the fear that our nonpartisan foundation is crumbling. In another break from the past, we saw threats to withhold back pay for furloughed employees, in direct opposition to the law requiring it. Fortunately, Congress provided a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark year by explicitly mandating back pay and acting against reductions in force: a reminder that we have allies and need to keep telling our stories to rally their support. I found another glimmer of hope in a recent encounter with some of the newest members of the Foreign Service. As they recounted the long and winding journey to getting their invitations to the orientation class, their excitement, nervous energy, and optimism about what lies ahead reminded me of how I felt when I first joined. I know it won’t be easy, but we owe it to them, and to ourselves, to do our part to make 2026 a brighter year. n
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