The United States plans, The C.I.A. and other American officials are worried that mass closures will make it more difficult to carry out national security missions. Additionally, China now has a larger diplomatic footprint worldwide than the US.
The United States plans, According to American authorities, senior State Department officials have drafted plans to eliminate a dozen consulates abroad by this summer and are thinking of closing many more operations. This might be a setback to the U.S. government’s efforts to form alliances and obtain intelligence.
Many locals who work for the department’s hundreds of missions will also be let go. In many nations, these employees serve as the cornerstone of U.S. ambassadors’ environmental expertise and comprise two-thirds of the agency’s workforce.
The United States plans, The reduction is a component of President Trump’s broader cuts to the federal government as well as his “America First” foreign policy, which aims to decrease or eliminate once significant means of American influence around the world, such as aid, democracy, and human rights.
The actions are done at a time when the United States has lost diplomatic posts abroad to China, America’s biggest foe. China has established close ties with other countries, particularly in Asia and Africa, and has more influence in international institutions.
Large portions of the federal government’s operations would be hampered by any widespread closures of missions, particularly entire embassies, which might jeopardize American national security.
In order to combat anything from terrorism to infectious diseases to collapsing currencies, embassies house officers from the military, intelligence, law enforcement, health, commerce, trade, treasury, and other departments. These officers keep an eye on events in the host country and collaborate with local officials.
Within the Central Intelligence Agency, there is already significant concern over the possibility of widespread downsizing. Since most American covert spies operate out of embassies and consulates, where they pose as diplomats, the C.I.A. would have fewer places to place its spies if diplomatic posts were closed.
A recruiting embargo and attrition are causing the State Department’s workforce to decrease, and the cuts coincide with the agency losing senior employees through voluntary resignations. About 160 persons are enrolled in a five-week course currently offered mostly to senior career diplomats, including ambassadors, who are considering retirement. According to an American official, this is one of the largest batches of retiring officers in recent memory.
The United States plans, In the first two months of this year, about 700 staff, including 450 career diplomats, submitted their resignation papers, the official added. That rate is astounding: Over the course of a year, over 800 people have quit prior to 2025.
According to two U.S. officials familiar with the developing talks, the State Department’s operations budget is being reduced internally, possibly by as much as 20 percent, as part of the efforts to downsize diplomatic posts and abroad staffing. They talked on condition of anonymity about the sensitive plans, just like other others who were interviewed for this report.
Internal discussion may lead to changes in the proposed savings and associated changes.
Elon Musk’s team has hastened the process by infiltrating government institutions in an effort to find what it claims is government waste. The crew includes Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old known to the public as “Big Balls,” who works at the State Department and assists in overseeing the agency’s budget cuts. The agency has a far smaller budget and fewer employees than the Pentagon.
Mr. Rubio told staff members on his first day at the department that he appreciated the diplomatic corps but that “there will be changes.”
He stated that the modifications were not intended to be punitive or damaging. “The changes will be because, to use a common cliche, we need to be a 21st-century agency that can move at the speed of relevance.”