America First: Reshaping U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Service Training

The US State Department announced on April 1, 2026, a comprehensive overhaul of the Foreign Service Officer test and the orientation process for new diplomats to align the agency with the Trump administration’s America First doctrine.

The reforms specifically target the elimination of questions related to the diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda from the written examination. The State Department stated that the revised test is intended to emphasize merit in the selection process and remove questions designed to test alignment with ideological agendas.

Under the new guidelines, applicants will be evaluated on their knowledge of American history, foreign policy concepts, and logical reasoning. The department has called on patriotic Americans to apply for the reshaped diplomatic corps.

Changes to Recruitment and Evaluation

The agency is replacing the Qualification Evaluation Panel, which previously conducted weeks-long reviews to rank candidate files, with a written examination. The State Department argued that the ability to think critically and write clear prose continues to be an essential skill for Foreign Service Officers.

Tommy Pigott, the Department’s deputy spokesperson, stated that the administration is modernizing the Foreign Service to prepare America’s diplomats to advocate for our national interest on a dynamically changing world stage.

The revamped program will focus on training officers in negotiation, public speaking, and international relations theory, with a specific emphasis on grand strategy and commercial diplomacy.

Revised Training Curriculum

The State Department is modifying its A-100 onboarding program for commissioned officers to include lectures on diplomatic history and America First foreign policy.

The updated curriculum features the following source materials:

• Writings and speeches from early presidents George Washington, John Quincy Adams, and James Monroe.
• Selections from the Federalist Papers.
• Works by Cold War-era diplomat George Kennan.
• Writings from Clash of Civilization author Samuel Huntington.
• Works by America First architect Angelo Codevilla.

Institutional Impact and Personnel Shifts

These changes follow broader institutional shifts initiated in 2025 to align the State Department with the administration’s priorities and worldview. During 2025, the department fired nearly 250 foreign service officers and saw the departure of numerous experienced diplomats, including ambassadors.

This represents on the tail end of a year of considerable disruption, where you’ve literally flushed out thousands of individuals from the Foreign Service and from foreign affairs.

John Dinkelman, president of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)

The announcement has led to concerns regarding the potential politicization of personnel who represent the United States in overseas assignments.