Marco Rubio announces a massive overhaul of the State Department, with a reduction of staff and bureaus
Some of the bureaus that are expected to be cut include the Office of Global Women’s Issues and the State Department’s diversity and inclusion efforts.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a massive overhaul of the State Department on Tuesday, with plans to reduce staff in the U.S. by 15% while closing and consolidating more than 100 bureaus worldwide as part of the Trump administration’s “America First” mandate.
The reorganization plan, announced by Rubio on social media and detailed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, is the latest effort by the White House to reimagine U.S. foreign policy and scale back the size of the federal government.
“We cannot win the battle for the 21st century with bloated bureaucracy that stifles innovation and misallocates scarce resources,” Rubio said in a department-wide email obtained by AP. He said the reorganization aimed to “meet the immense challenges of the 21st Century and put America First.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Paris on April 17, 2025.Julien de Rosa / AP fileState Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce echoed that sentiment, saying the “sweeping changes will empower our talented diplomats” but adding that it would not result in the immediate dismissal of personnel.
“It’s not something where people are being fired today,” Bruce told reporters Tuesday. “They’re not going to be walking out of the building. It’s not that kind of a dynamic. It is a roadmap. It’s a plan.”
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