“Crazed Egomaniac”: Trump Team Turns on Official Who Quit Over Iran

A total of 1,300 people were laid off at the State Department last summer, and the Bureau of Energy Resources was hit hard. Those fired were responsible for planning scenarios if the strait were ever closed, and others had professional relationships with Middle Eastern oil and gas companies as well as foreign diplomats who deal with energy issues. Ironically, the only people left in the office are those working in clean energy and essential minerals.

“I am sure that the secretary [of State Marco] “Rubio would have liked to have this expertise available today,” Geoffrey Pyatt, who served as assistant secretary of state for energy resources during the Biden administration, told NOTUS. “Most of this institutional knowledge was lost with the removal of the office and RIFs last fall.”

This expertise would be essential now as oil and gas prices skyrocket around the world due to the closure of the strait and attacks on the region’s oil and gas infrastructure. Several former State Department officials who worked in the energy field told NOTUS that the lack of preparation before hitting Iran is clearly apparent.