Trump administration announces plan for major overhaul of US State Department

A US State Department restructuring plan announced on Tuesday did not include the closure of any embassies or consulates, contradicting recent reports of draft proposals.

The plan, a first step to reducing what Donald Trump’s administration considers an inefficient foreign affairs operation, would eliminate or consolidate several State Department offices and bureaus, including ones focused on human rights.

“In its current form, the department is bloated, bureaucratic and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission in this new era of great power competition,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

According to a State Department fact sheet, the number of offices and bureaus is to fall to 602, from 734. An estimated 137 offices will be relocated within the department or phased out.

Undersecretaries will submit plans to reduce staff by 15 per cent, the document added.

Among the units slated for elimination are the Office of Global Women’s Issues and the Foreign Service Institute, which provides language training and educational support for career diplomats; an assistant secretary for energy resources; and five bureaus and offices supervised by the undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy, and human rights.