An official State Department memo acquired by HEADLINESFOREVER indicates that the current administration is considering the closure of around 30 foreign embassies and consulates as part of its plans to significantly alter its diplomatic presence worldwide.
In addition to “resizing” other diplomatic outposts, the paper suggests lowering the presence at the US embassies in Iraq and Somalia, two nations that have played an important role in US counterterrorism initiatives.
These planned reforms are part of a larger attempt by the Trump administration to reduce the size of the federal government, which is being driven by the Department of Government Efficiency, which Elon Musk has sponsored. The agency is anticipated to undergo a bigger revamp. Whether or whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio has approved the planned closures is not known.
The State Department has been contacted by HEADLINESFOREVER in order to get a statement about the document.
The report suggests that ten embassies and seventeen consulates be shuttered. The majority of the postings are located in Africa and Europe, although there are a few in Asia and the Caribbean as well. Among these diplomatic missions are those in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Luxembourg, and Malta. Additionally, the following consulates are included in the list: five in France, two in Germany, two in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one in the UK, one in SA, and one in KR.
The report suggests that missions in neighboring nations take over for the shuttered embassies.
Of the embassies that were proposed for closure, the government has only named nominations for Malta and Luxembourg.
In March, HEADLINESFOREVER revealed that the State Department was planning to shut down several of the consulates mentioned in the classified paper.
The State Department relies on its embassies and consulates as vital outposts. For American people in need, they offer services such as processing visas and help. Officials claim the stations are a crucial diplomatic tool in the US’s arsenal against countries like China, and they also gather data to relay back to DC. The majority of consulates employ a small staff.
According to the document, which claims to be the recommendations for closure from the State Department’s undersecretary for management, “posts were evaluated based on feedback from regional bureaus and the interagency, consular workload, cost per USDH (US direct hire) billet, condition of facilities, and security ratings.”
“Could serve as a model large mission by consolidating consulate support into a specialized unit” in larger postings, the paper says of the proposed “resizing,” referring to the US missions in Japan and Canada.
This report suggests “FLEX-style light footprint posts with limited focus and staffing” in several nations and “dual-hatted leadership” in multi-mission offices like OECD and UNESCO in Paris.