The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that applications to join the Foreign Service have reached their highest level in ten years, reflecting a sharp increase in interest since President Donald Trump returned to office and appointed Marco Rubio as Secretary of State.
According to data released by the State Department, 5,751 Americans have applied to become Foreign Service Officers under the Trump administration — nearly four times the 1,517 applicants recorded during the Biden administration. The department shared the figures in a graphic posted on X, stating that “more Americans want to join the State Department as diplomats today than at any point in the last decade.”
The post attributed the surge to President Trump’s “America First” agenda, saying it has “rallied confidence in our nation’s leadership and a renewed belief in the power of diplomacy to advance our nation’s interests globally.”
The announcement follows a series of structural and policy reforms at the State Department under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has led the most extensive reorganization of the department since the Cold War. As previously reported by Breitbart News, Rubio’s overhaul has focused on reducing bureaucracy, streamlining approval processes, and shifting power back to embassies and regional bureaus. The reforms also include the consolidation or closure of more than 130 offices and the reassignment or departure of roughly 3,000 employees as part of an effort to cut “decades of bloat and bureaucracy.”
Under Trump’s direction, the State Department has also ended COVID-era telework policies, requiring all personnel to return to in-person operations. Beginning in January, following President Trump’s executive order on federal hiring reforms, Rubio and the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, coordinated to make hiring and internal functions more merit-based and results-driven.
The rise in Foreign Service applications comes amid broader efforts to downsize and modernize the federal government. The Office of Personnel Management noted earlier this month that over 150,000 federal employees have left the workforce through buyouts and voluntary exits, marking the largest reduction in federal employment in more than 80 years.
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