Sometime in June 2025, specific date unknown, Marco Rubio‘s State Department (executed by “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE) sacked a crucial group of strategic analysts specializing in “gaming out possible scenarios” if the Strait of Hormuz was blocked or closed. Anna Kramer reported for NOTUS:
…months before the Trump administration started bombing Iran, the Department of State fired its oil and gas experts.
As the war in Iran stretches into its third week, and the Strait of Hormuz—through which 20% of the world’s oil supply usually flows—remains effectively closed, the U.S. government is without the resources it once had to handle such crises, former State Department employees tell NOTUS.
In July 2025, as part of Trump [and elon musk’s] reduction-in-force initiative, the administration laid off staff who would have been responsible for gaming out possible scenarios if the Strait of Hormuz was closed
Anna Kramer, NOTUS
Given that Trump has since ordered the Iran strikes, the oil-and-gas supply chain has been put in complete disarray—with Iran effectively shutting off Hormuz Strait to tanker ships. Those experts fired last year would have presumably come in very handy in weeding through the thorny issues caused by Trump’s (always) impulsive actions.
The timing of DOGE’s firings is notable for a number of reasons, chief among them: Trump ordered his bombing campaign on Iran without (what earlier, competent administrations would call) “brainpower” to game out all scenarios for the purpose of making strategic decisions in wartime.
Bureau of Energy Resources also fired its sole expert in tracking sanctioned oil tankers, as well as the person primarily tasked with liaising with the International Energy Agency, which coordinates releases from world’s petroleum reserves in times of crisis.
And it’s not just that the State Department eliminated its energy bureau. Across many of the agencies that play a role in navigating a war or a global energy catastrophe, former staffers who left the administration within the last few months and remain in contact with current officials told NOTUS that the Trump administration has sidelined people with expertise.
The usual process of analyzing, reporting and debating before decisions are made all but ceased, said three people who quit their positions at the National Security Council, Treasury and DOE in the last six months. Before the Trump administration, those three agencies, alongside the State Department, would have engaged in a robust inter-agency debate about how to handle a global oil crisis like the one [caused by Trump] in the Middle East.
Anna Kramer, NOTUS
“Sidelining expertise” is certainly a feature of Trump’s second “stint” in the White House, who—as a disgraced game show host—parlayed the phrase “you’re fired” into a brand that conveyed false command of personnel decision-making. The U.S. government has lost an unprecedented amount of generational talent, either by retaliatory firings or departures, which includes, but is certainly not limited to:
- HUD lawyers fired for trying to follow the law
- CDC director, longtime federal scientist, was fired for defending vaccines
- The firing of Maurene Comey, respected prosecutor on Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
For his part, Rubio is now threatening that Strait of Hormuz will open “one way or another,” which appears to be a promise of further attacks on Iran.
AUTHOR FOOTNOTE
The absence of experts in Donald’s “administration” (it’s a mafia) didn’t just “leave a gap” in responding to a self-created Iran crisis—it was, to my eyes anyway, their version of preparation. Staffing up a democracy is a series of value statements, and with just about every single three-letter agency (HUD, FBI, CDC, DHS, etc.) the message from Trump is clear: if you are competent and/or refuse my demands, you’re out. That’s especially true here because America has, historically, led the world in logistics, soft power, negotiations and deliberative process.
Just have a look at the long lines at TSA around the country and ask yourselves, If Donald was installed to destroy America and make living here intolerable, what would he be doing differently?
