A leaked Trump administration draft order would restructure the State Department, wipe out most Africa programs, and close many diplomatic posts. It also includes replacing veteran diplomats with loyalists of President Trump.
The 16-page document obtained by The New York Times began circulating among current and former officials on Saturday. It directs a “disciplined reorganization” to cut “waste, fraud and abuse.”
If signed, the order would give the department until Oct. 1 to implement the changes. However, Congress must be informed of mass closures, and lawsuits are expected.
The document said that the Bureau of African Affairs would disappear, and embassies and consulates in sub‑Saharan Africa would be closed down. Moreover, a small special envoy office reporting to the National Security Council would focus only on counterterrorism and resource trade. Diplomats would visit the continent on brief “mission‑driven” trips rather than live there.
Headquarters offices devoted to democracy, human rights, refugees, climate, and public diplomacy would close. The posts of the Under Secretary who supervises them and the Special Envoy for Climate would be cut.
A new under secretary for transnational threat elimination would oversee counternarcotics and related work. A Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance would absorb what remains of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Traditional regional bureaus would be replaced by four “corps.” The Eurasia Corps would cover Europe, Russia, and Central Asia; the Mid‑East Corps would span Arab nations, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan; the Latin America Corps would take Central; South America and the Caribbean; and the Indo‑Pacific Corps would run from East Asia through the Maldives.
On the other hand, Canada would move into a smaller North American affairs office, and the embassy in Ottawa would be “significantly reduced.”
The document also orders that the foreign service entrance exam will end. Applicants would pick a region at the start and must show “alignment with the president’s foreign policy vision.” Large numbers of staff would be offered buyouts through Sept. 30, placed on paid leave, or given termination notices.
Officials familiar with the plan said the department would start placing employees on “home leave” with pay as soon as May, a step often used before layoffs. Notices of separation could follow in midsummer. The memo says career civil servants would face the same buyout offers as foreign service officers. Those offers run through September.
The draft also orders the department to “greatly expand” artificial intelligence for drafting documents, reviewing policy, and operational planning.
Education and diversity programs would narrow. Fulbright awards would go only to master’s students working on national security. Howard University’s contract to recruit Rangel and Pickering fellows would end, and the fellowships themselves would be terminated.
Separate internal papers, quoted by officials, propose cutting the department’s budget nearly 50% and closing 10 embassies and 17 consulates. Those moves match the Oct. 1 timeline in the draft order.
Some of the proposed changes—closing missions, eliminating bureaus, restructuring the diplomatic corps—require advance notice to Congress and are certain to be challenged in court. Many officers have begun consulting lawyers about possible violations of federal personnel rules.
White House review could add changes to parts of the document before the president decides to sign it.
After the Times report appeared, Secretary Rubio posted a two‑word response on social media: “fake news.”
If the order is issued, the State Department would undergo its largest shake‑up in decades, shrinking its global footprint while concentrating authority in the White House and a handful of new offices.
Supporters say the plan would streamline diplomacy and align it with the president’s goals. Critics warn it would erase expertise built over generations and leave Africa, climate policy, and human rights work largely unattended.
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