In recent days, current and former Foreign Service officers have defied Trump administration orders and trudged to Capitol Hill to testify before House committees investigating whether to impeach the president. Colleagues inside the State Department and their allies in the broader foreign policy community are quietly hailing them as heroes, with special praise for those testifying despite still being on the government payroll…

For now, though, it feels pretty good to hit back.

“People are fed up,” said Laura Kennedy, a former U.S. ambassador who remains in touch with officials still in the State Department. “There’s a deep well of resentment that’s just bubbled toward the top.”

There’s also anxiety.