THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2026 49 AFSA NEWS AFSA/MARK PARKHOMENKO United States, though some 250 Foreign Service members temporarily serving in domestic posts were also let go. USAID, targeted separately by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), lost nearly all its staff in the same period. Speakers argued these losses have left the country with less capacity to respond to crises, pointing to recent U.S. negotiations related to the war with Iran and the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Africa as evidence. The centerpiece of Thursday’s event was an eightpanel exhibit, each panel built around a real crisis, a position eliminated in the cuts, and the expertise that left with it, such as the infectiousdisease adviser who once tracked outbreaks before they reached U.S. shores, the rapidresponse consular officer who helped evacuate citizens from war zones, and the fraud investigator who screened out bad passports before travelers boarded flights. Ferdaouis Bagga, an AFGE Local 1534 steward fired in the RIF, served as master of ceremonies. Rep. Walkinshaw opened the program, tying USAID’s dismantling directly to the current Ebola outbreak and arguing that the agency’s decades of community trust and coordination capacity have been lost as a result. Seven members of Congress spoke at the event: Missing Badge Continued from page 45 Senator Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Representative Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Representative Don Beyer (D-Va.), former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Representative Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), and Rep. Walkinshaw. Several lawmakers used their remarks to highlight pending legislation: the Foreign Service Test-Free Reentry Act, which would let RIFed Foreign Service officers rejoin the Service without retaking entry exams; the PREP Act, which would shorten probationary periods for newly hired or promoted federal employees; and the REHIRE Act, which would give hiring preference to laidoff employees at agencies now recruiting. Sen. Van Hollen also pointed to separate legislation he helped introduce in May seeking to reinstate laidoff Foreign Service members and grant them hiring priority as the department recruits new staff. Maryum Saifee, a Foreign Service officer with 17 years at the State Department, also spoke at the event, telling the crowd she received a RIF notice stating there was “no work available” in her position with the department’s chief data and artificial intelligence office but the job was never actually eliminated. “Right after I was fired, the department hired someone else to fill my job,” she said, calling the RIF not a Senator Andy Kim (D-N.J.) delivers remarks at the July 16 “Missing Badge” event. Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) addresses attendees on Capitol Hill. LR PHOTOGRAPHY/LELAND RENATO
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