Rubio Reveals Major State Department Overhaul
(MENAFN) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday revealed a major initiative to restructure the State Department, designed to align more closely with President Donald Trump's America First foreign policy.
Rubio emphasized the urgency of reform, stating, "We are facing tremendous challenges across the globe" and "in its current form, the Department is bloated, bureaucratic, and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission in this new era of great power competition."
He pointed out that "over the past 15 years, the Department's footprint has had unprecedented growth and costs have soared. But far from seeing a return on investment, taxpayers have seen less effective and efficient diplomacy. The sprawling bureaucracy created a system more beholden to radical political ideology than advancing America's core national interests."
He explained, "that is why today I am announcing a comprehensive reorganization plan that will bring the Department into the 21st Century." He further noted, "This approach will empower the Department from the ground up, from the bureaus to the embassies. Region-specific functions will be consolidated to increase functionality, redundant offices will be removed, and non-statutory programs that are misaligned with America's core national interests will cease to exist."
Rubio further promoted the plan on the social media platform X, stating, "These sweeping changes will empower our talented diplomats to put America and Americans first."
According to reports, the overhaul includes a 15 percent reduction in domestic staff and the closure of more than 130 U.S.-based offices.
A media source, citing an internal fact sheet, reported that the total number of offices at State Department headquarters would decrease from 734 to 602. Another 137 offices are expected to be relocated within the Department to streamline operations.
Additionally, the plan calls for the elimination of roughly 700 jobs in Washington, D.C., and the shutdown of offices focused on war crimes and global conflict, the report said.
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