Washington (Europe Brief News): U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the initial phase of a significant plan to restructure the US State Department, which will involve the closure of 132 domestic offices and a reduction of approximately 700 positions in Washington, DC.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a comprehensive reform of the State Department On Tuesday, April 22, 2025. The plan aims to reduce the U.S. workforce by 15% and to shut down or consolidate over 100 international bureaus, aligning with the Trump administration’s “America First” policy, and will also terminate offices dedicated to war crimes and global conflicts, as stated by a senior official at the State Department.
The senior State Department official clarified that while these changes would not lead to immediate layoffs, it implies that some officials will eventually lose their positions. Under this reorganization, it is anticipated that 700 jobs at the Washington headquarters will be cut, the official indicated.
An internal fact sheet from the State Department noted that “Under Secretaries will also present a strategy to reduce staff in domestic offices by 15%, in accordance with the President’s Workforce Optimization Initiative.”
The restructuring plan, revealed by Rubio on social platforms and outlined in a document indicating that the overhaul would counter “years of bloat and bureaucracy,” aims to eliminate what he implied was a deeply rooted “extreme political ideology.”
Rubio said that “these sweeping changes will empower our talented diplomats to put out America and Americans first.”
The long-anticipated reorganization proposal disclosed on Tuesday lacks detailed specifics. Instead, the senior State Department official referred to it as a roadmap. Under secretaries of State have been directed to create plans within 30 days for leadership to enact the modifications by July 1, as per a memo from Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau sent to staff on Tuesday.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce supported this view, asserting that the “extensive changes will enable our skilled diplomats,” but she also mentioned that it would not lead to immediate staff dismissals.
“It’s not a scenario where people are being terminated today,” Bruce informed reporters on Tuesday. “They are not going to walk out of the building. It’s not that kind of situation. This is a roadmap. It’s a plan.”
The proposals include consolidating 734 bureaus and offices down to 602, in addition to relocating 137 offices “to another spot within the Department to enhance efficiency,” according to a fact sheet received by The Associated Press.
There will also be a newly designed office concentrating on foreign and humanitarian affairs to unite the remaining foreign assistance programs at State, especially following the drastic decision to close the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Some of the bureaus slated for elimination encompass the Office of Global Women’s Issues and the department’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, which have faced cuts across the government since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
The State Department is also expected to eliminate certain offices that were previously managed by the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, but the fact sheet indicates that most of their work will continue under different sections of the department.
Though the plan will introduce significant alterations to the department’s bureaucracy and staff, it is considerably less extreme than a rumored reorganization proposal that was shared by certain officials over the weekend. Many high-ranking officials at the State Department, including Rubio, asserted that the plan was not genuine.
