U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has officially announced that the Trump administration is undertaking a major reorganization of the U.S. State Department (DASH). The decision aims to eliminate offices deemed excessive and to reduce programs that no longer align with U.S. national interests.
“This approach will strengthen the Department from the ground up—from headquarters to embassies abroad,” Rubio said in a press statement, aligning the changes with President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy agenda.
According to Rubio, regional-specific functions will be consolidated, and non-statutory programs inconsistent with America’s core national interests will be discontinued.
“Today is the day. Under @POTUS’ leadership and at my direction, we are reversing decades of bloat and bureaucracy at the State Department,” Rubio wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
One of the significant structural changes includes shifting the responsibilities of the Undersecretary for Civilian Security, Human Rights, and Democracy under a newly created Coordinator for Foreign Aid and Humanitarian Affairs.
Rubio, who also oversees the restructured USAID, sharply criticized the department’s growth over the years, calling it “bloated, bureaucratic, and incapable of fulfilling its core diplomatic mission in this new era of great power competition.”
“We are empowering our skilled diplomats to prioritize America and Americans above all,” he emphasized.
This overhaul follows an earlier executive order by President Trump in February, which mandated reforms within the U.S. Foreign Service to align with his foreign policy vision.
In March, several U.S. officials indicated that nearly a dozen consulates were expected to be shut down. However, Rubio’s announcement made no mention of consulate closures.
