The Big Olowski Has Left the Building

Lew Olowski
In the last few days, the story of Olowski’s dramatic departure has gone absolutely viral among State employees, current and former, ricocheting all over the world. Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images Courtesy of the Rainey Center
Julia Ioffe
January 8, 2026

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Lew Olowski, the eccentric, Monster energy drink–chugging, evangelical MAGA chief of human resources at the State Department, is out, sorta—after what three sources familiar described as an epic meltdown at his own going-away party. Olowski, who had spent nearly a year running a department that manages over 70,000 people in 180 countries, had been told that he was being moved to head up the more prestigious Office of Foreign Missions, which runs all of America’s embassies. I’m told by a source who has worked closely with Olowski that he had been looking forward to getting more sway over foreign policy. But before long, it all went very, very wrong.