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Number of People Who Want to Be Diplomats Slumps to 10-Year Low Under Trump

Lowest numbers taking State Department test since 2008.

The number of Americans who want to become diplomats has slumped to a 10-year low under President Trump, NBC News reports. The number of people taking the State Department exam to become diplomats has dropped to the lowest level since 2008 and has declined during each of the first two years of the Trump administration. Only 8,685 people chose to take the Foreign Service Officer Test between October 2017 and October 2018—a 22 percent decline compared to the same period a year earlier. The number of test-takers has only ever dipped below 9,000 in two other years as far as the data shows: 2000 and 2008. “It is definitely bad news,” said Ronald Neumann of the American Academy of Diplomacy. “If that keeps going we will lose some people who would have been the brightest stars of tomorrow.”

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