The Department of State told staff on Thursday it would not extend contracts for civilian personal services contractors beginning on Saturday, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Personal services contractors provide duties such as housekeeping and maintenance at overseas embassies. But they also supplement diplomatic security. Three of the four people killed in a 2012 raid on the Libyan diplomatic mission in Benghazi – Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty – were civilian security contractors.
The directive does not distinguish between security staff and others. Roughly half of the bureau of diplomatic security’s contractors fall under the directive’s umbrella. Contracts cannot run for periods longer than a year, per state department regulation. But contracts can be renewed annually for up to an additional four option years.
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Direct employees of the federal government have broad civil service protections, but contractors generally do not benefit from these protections. They are not considered civil service or foreign service employees, but may be considered federal employees in some cases.
“All of these new contracts are to be terminated immediately or, in the case of unexercised options, must not be exercised,” states the email from Catherine Rodriguez, a senior official and career staffer at the state department’s bureau of global talent management. Contracts in the process of being signed are to be halted and any job postings made after the inauguration of Donald Trump are to be rescinded, according to the email.
The email states that the directive is in response to Trump’s executive order freezing the hiring of federal employees, barring all agencies and departments from filling vacant positions.
The directive exempts domestic passport operations from the hiring freeze.
“We recognize that 8 February is fast approaching and that bureaus may have already signed new contracts or option year extensions that might begin next week,” Rodriguez wrote, directing requests for exemptions to the under-secretary for management, a position currently held by Ambassador Tibor Nagy in an acting capacity.
A request to the state department for comment has not yet been returned.
