Senior State Division officers have drawn up plans to shut a dozen consulates abroad by this summer time and are contemplating shutting down many extra missions, in what may very well be a blow to the U.S. authorities’s efforts to construct partnerships and collect intelligence, American officers say.
The division additionally plans to put off many native residents who work for its a whole lot of missions. These staff make up two-thirds of the company’s work drive, and in lots of nations they kind the muse of U.S. diplomats’ information of their environments.
The shrinking is a part of each President Trump’s bigger slashing of the federal authorities and his “America First” international coverage, through which the US ends or curtails once-important methods of exercising world affect, together with via democracy, human rights and assist work.
The strikes come at a time when China, the principle rival of America, has overtaken the US in variety of world diplomatic posts. China has cast sturdy ties throughout nations, particularly in Asia and Africa, and exerts larger energy in worldwide organizations.
Any broad shutdowns of missions, particularly complete embassies, would hinder the work of enormous components of the federal authorities and doubtlessly compromise U.S. nationwide safety.
Embassies home officers from the army, intelligence, regulation enforcement, well being, commerce, commerce, treasury and different businesses, all of whom monitor developments within the host nation and work with native officers to counter every part from terrorism to infectious illness to collapsing currencies.
The prospect of huge cuts has already generated some nervousness throughout the Central Intelligence Company. The overwhelming majority of undercover American intelligence officers work out of embassies and consulates, posing as diplomats, and the closure of diplomatic posts would scale back the C.I.A.’s choices for the place to place its spies.
The cuts come because the State Division is hemorrhaging senior employees members through voluntary resignations, and a hiring freeze means the work drive is shrinking via attrition. A present five-week course primarily for senior profession diplomats, together with ambassadors, selecting to retire has about 160 folks in it, one of many largest cohorts of retiring officers in current reminiscence, one American official mentioned.
About 700 staff — 450 of them profession diplomats — have handed in resignation papers within the first two months of this yr, the official mentioned. That’s an astonishing charge: Earlier than 2025, about 800 folks had resigned over a whole yr.
The efforts to chop diplomatic posts and abroad staffing are a part of an inner marketing campaign to cut back the State Division’s operations price range, maybe by as a lot as 20 %, in response to two U.S. officers with information of the evolving discussions. Like others who spoke for this text, they mentioned the delicate plans on the situation of anonymity.
The attainable cuts and associated proposals might evolve as inner debate continues.
The method has been accelerated by a crew led by Elon Musk, which has embedded itself in authorities businesses within the hunt for what it calls authorities waste. One member of the crew, Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old engineer who publicly goes by “Large Balls,” is within the State Division serving to to direct the price range cuts on the company. Its price range and worker numbers are tiny in contrast with these of the Pentagon.
A memo circulating throughout the division proposes closing a dozen consulates, primarily in Western Europe, in response to three U.S. officers who’ve seen or been briefed on the memo. That motion is going on as Mr. Trump distances the US from its democratic allies in Europe in favor of strengthening relations with Russia.
The US’ 271 world diplomatic posts lag behind China’s 274, however the US presently has an edge in Europe, in response to a research by the Lowy Institute.
The State Division notified two congressional committees final month of the closures. And on Monday, division officers instructed the committees that in addition they deliberate to shut a consulate in Gaziantep, Turkey, which has been a hub for U.S. officers to work with refugees from neighboring Syria and humanitarian assist teams there.
These consulates are small operations, normally with one or two American diplomats and a employees of native residents. However they assist acquire and disseminate data in locations away from capitals, and problem visas.
In mid-February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio despatched a memo to chiefs of mission, who’re normally ambassadors, telling them to make sure that staffing at abroad posts was “saved to the minimal essential to implement the president’s international coverage priorities.” He additionally mentioned any positions left vacant for 2 years needs to be abolished, mentioned a U.S. official who has seen the memo.
A cable despatched from Washington on Wednesday to world missions tells all staff to search for “waste, fraud and abuse,” the phrase that Mr. Musk makes use of to justify his deep cuts throughout the federal government. Officers are instructed to assist with Mr. Musk’s mission by reviewing all contracts that price $10,000 to $250,000, mentioned a U.S. official who has seen the cable.
That would contribute to a proposed slashing of as much as 20 % of the State Division’s working price range. The U.S. official mentioned the phrase “throughout the board” cuts has been used, however it’s unclear what meaning. Underneath one proposal, the work of shuttered embassies may very well be absorbed by one other embassy in the identical area, or by a regional mission hub.
The plan to shut a dozen consulates primarily in Western Europe is extra concrete. State Division officers have shared an inventory with Congress, although it might nonetheless change. The record contains consulates in Florence, Italy; Strasbourg, France; Hamburg, Germany; and Ponta Delgada, Portugal. It additionally features a consulate in Brazil, in response to a U.S. official who has seen the record. Some particulars of the deliberate closures have been reported earlier by Politico.
“The State Division continues to evaluate our world posture to make sure we’re greatest positioned to handle trendy challenges on behalf of the American folks,” the company mentioned in a press release on Thursday when requested in regards to the numerous proposed modifications.
In his remarks to staff on his first day on the division, Mr. Rubio mentioned that he valued the diplomatic corps, however that “there can be modifications.”
“The modifications will not be meant to be damaging; they’re not meant to be punitive,” he mentioned. “The modifications can be as a result of we should be a Twenty first-century company that may transfer, by a cliché that’s utilized by many, on the pace of relevance.”
Since then, Mr. Rubio has overseen drastic international assist cuts and allowed Mr. Musk and Pete Marocco, a divisive political appointee, to fireside or place on depart 1000’s of staff at the US Company for Worldwide Improvement, a sister company to the State Division. That has raised doubts amongst diplomats over Mr. Rubio’s dedication.
The unease amongst diplomats is additional fueled by the truth that they’ve seen no signal that Mr. Rubio has tried to push again towards Mr. Trump’s efforts to weaken democratic Ukraine and embrace Russia, which might sign a broader acquiescence to White Home directives. Diplomats have famous a viral photograph of Mr. Rubio slouched stone-faced on a sofa within the Oval Workplace final Friday as Mr. Trump shouted at Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine.
Staff within the State Division’s International and Civil Providers are bracing for rounds of layoffs. The division has about 76,000 staff, with 50,000 of these native residents overseas. Of the remaining, about 14,000 are educated diplomats who rotate abroad, referred to as International Service officers, and 10,000 are members of the Civil Service and work principally out of Washington.
The chiefs of mission have been requested by senior division officers to submit an inventory by mid-February of the naked minimal variety of native residents they would wish to keep up mission operations, a U.S. official mentioned.
Diplomats and civil servants may very well be pushed out via reduction-in-force orders, a mechanism that authorities businesses can use to put off staff. One other U.S. official mentioned these sorts of orders are alleged to keep in mind seniority and job efficiency.
In current weeks, an inventory of 700 Civil Service staff who doubtlessly may very well be fired circulated throughout the division, however to this point solely 18 who have been on probationary standing have been let go, a U.S. official mentioned.
One try to chop staff has been rolled again for now. In early February, the division issued orders to contracting corporations to finish the work of 60 contractors within the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. The businesses put the employees, who embrace tech and space specialists, on unpaid depart. However after inner discussions, the bureau requested most or all of them to return this week.
High officers are discussing consolidating components of the division. One proposal would downgrade, via a merger, the democracy and human rights bureau in addition to bureaus engaged on counternarcotics and refugee and migration points. The division’s workplace of international assist and the tiny remnants of U.S.A.I.D. could be put below the identical umbrella.
Officers have additionally proposed merging a number of the division’s regional bureaus. These are run by assistant secretaries in Washington and oversee coverage and operations throughout massive swaths of the globe. The bureaus are central to American diplomacy.
