Marco Rubio announces overhaul of U.S. State Department

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he is streamlining what he’s calling a ‘bloated’ bureaucracy. He’s cutting about 700 positions and 132 offices at the State Department.

In an Substack post explaining some of his changes, Rubio takes aim at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, writing that it “became a platform for left-wing activists to wage vendettas against ‘anti-woke’ leaders in nations such as Poland, Hungary and Brazil, and to transform their hatred of Israel into concrete policies such as arms embargoes.”

He is putting that office, required by Congress, under the control of the Coordinator for Foreign Assistance and abolished the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Human Rights and Democracy, which used to oversee several offices now being closed. One example is the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, set up after the Bush administration’s war in Iraq.

The Department is planning to cut about 15 percent of its personnel, though State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce says “no one is going to be walking out of the building” today. Reduction in Forces (RIF) notices will go out later, according to State Department officials briefed on the plan.

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, Senator Jeanne Shaheen says reforms must be done with care. She warns that when “America retreats – as it has under President Trump – China and Russia fill the void.”

The Trump administration has notified Congress about the reorganization plan. Democratic lawmakers have been clamoring for a briefing by Rubio, following the dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development. The remnants of USAID will be folded into the State Department, with more oversight from regional bureaus, according to Rubio’s aides.

The plan does not address the State Department’s overseas footprint, though some proposals seen by NPR have suggested there could be cuts of two dozen consulates and embassies.