Under this order 1,107 civil service and 246 Foreign Service officers have terminated.

The sudden firings created emotional scenes at the State Department s Washington headquarters, where co-workers cheered and hugged the departing employees.

Notably, the mass firings followed the Supreme Court s clearance of the Trump administration to proceed with its plan to cut huge segments of the federal workforce. The conservative-majority court overruled a lower court injunction, allowing Trump to implement what he has long referred to as a mission to dismantle the so-called "deep state.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified the move, saying that the department must get leaner. "It s not a matter of laying people off, but closing bureaus and reducing unnecessary positions," he explained at an ASEAN summit in Malaysia.

“It is need to be understood that we are just cutting down positions,” he justified the Trump administration decision.

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), however, denounced the move as a "catastrophic blow to national interests." Former State Department spokesman Ned Price also lashed out at the decision as reckless and detrimental.

Employees were allegedly notified of their firing through an email. Foreign service officers have 120 days prior to firing, and civil service personnel will be fired in 60 days. The firings come on the heels of the virtual elimination of USAID, marking a fundamental change in U.S. foreign aid and diplomacy policy.