14 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL TALKING POINTS Trump Administration Cancels Annual Federal Workforce Survey For the first time since 2010, the federal government will not conduct the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), the governmentwide questionnaire that measures morale, engagement, and satisfaction among civil servants. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced on August 15 that it has canceled the 2025 edition of the survey, citing plans to “recalibrate” FEVS to align with the Trump administration’s workforce priorities. OPM Director Scott Kupor said the updated version, expected in 2026, will remove questions added under the Biden administration on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), while refocusing on “a high-performance, highefficiency, and merit-based civil service.” The cancellation comes amid widespread upheaval in the federal workforce, including mass firings, relocations, and cuts that have already fueled concerns about morale. Past FEVS results have provided one of the clearest pictures of workforce sentiment, influencing management decisions and shaping the Partnership for Public Service’s annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings. For the State Department, those rankings have been especially sobering in recent years: Its employee engagement and satisfaction score fell to 62.8 in 2024, down from highs near 70 in 2010, placing the department 16th out of 18 large agencies. Observers warn that skipping the survey deprives both agency leaders and Congress of valuable feedback. “By making this decision, the administration is depriving itself of the ability to make data-driven leadership decisions that can help government better deliver for the public,” said Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service. The FEVS is also tied to a legal requirement, enacted in the 2004 National Defense Authorization Act, for agencies to survey employees annually on workplace conditions. OPM has not explained how the government will comply with that mandate this year. Human Rights Reports Scaled Back The State Department’s annual “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices” for 2024 were released on August 12, 2025, six months later than usual and in dramatically reduced form. For decades, the reports have been considered the most comprehensive government-produced assessment of human rights worldwide. This year’s versions, however, were significantly shortened and whole sections were removed, prompting widespread criticism that the administration is whitewashing abuses by allies, targeting adversaries, and undermining U.S. credibility. The reports, mandated by Congress since the late 1970s, have historically provided detailed, nonpartisan assessments of conditions in almost every country and territory in the world. They have served as a trusted resource for Congress, the courts, immigration adjudicators, human rights advocates, and even businesses conducting risk assessments. In 20222023 alone, lawmakers cited the reports more than 70 times in legislation. But the 2024 editions were cut by more than half, with entire sections eliminated. Coverage of government corruption, election abuses, systemic racial and ethnic discrimination, violence against women and minorities, child abuse, and LGBTQ+ rights has disappeared. Long-standing sections on prison conditions, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and reprisals against human rights defenders have also been dropped, even as the State Department itself estimates there are more than 1 million political prisoners worldwide. The result is a selective and inconsistent picture. The report on Israel, for instance, plummeted from more than 22,000 words last year to fewer than 1,500, and omits reference to International Criminal Court arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders. The report on El Salvador, once offering specific details on arbitrary detentions and torture, now concludes there were “no credible reports of significant human rights abuses.” Meanwhile, reports on Brazil and South Africa—whose governments have clashed with the Trump administration—emphasize “disproportionate” curbs on free speech and “worsened” racial tensions. Diplomacy matters. War, threats, and violence are never the answer. Dialogue, deliberation, and discussion are. We don’t always have to agree and we don’t always succeed—but we cannot stop trying. —Linda Thomas-Greenfield accepting AFSA’s Award for Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy at Georgetown University, October 1. Contemporary Quote Talking Points offers a snapshot of recent developments affecting the Foreign Service. The following items were finalized for publication on September 25, 2025.
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