Trump Administration Draft Order Calls for Drastic Overhaul of State Department [View all]

Source: New York Times

April 20, 2025, 4:00 a.m. ET


A draft White House executive order proposes a drastic restructuring of the State Department, including eliminating almost all of its Africa operations and shutting down embassies and consulates across the continent. The draft also calls for cutting offices at State Department headquarters that address climate change and refugee issues, as well as democracy and human rights concerns. The purpose of the executive order, which could be signed by President Trump this week, is to impose “a disciplined reorganization” of the State Department and “streamline mission delivery” while cutting “waste, fraud and abuse,” according to a copy of the 16-page draft order obtained by The New York Times. The department is supposed to make the changes by Oct. 1.

The signing of the executive order would be accompanied by efforts to lay off both career diplomats, known as foreign service officers, and civil service employees, who usually work in the department’s headquarters in Washington, said current and former U.S. officials familiar with the plans. The department would begin putting large numbers of workers on paid leave and sending out notices of termination, they said. The draft executive order calls for ending the foreign service exam for aspiring diplomats, and it lays out new criteria for hiring, including “alignment with the president’s foreign policy vision.”

The draft says the department must greatly expand its use of artificial intelligence to help draft documents, and to undertake “policy development and review” and “operational planning.” Elements of the executive order could still change before Mr. Trump signs it. Neither the State Department nor the White House National Security Council had immediate comment on the order early Sunday. The proposed reorganization would get rid of regional bureaus that help make and enact policy in large parts of the globe.

Instead, the draft says, those functions would fall under four “corps”: Eurasia Corps, consisting of Europe, Russia and Central Asia; Mid-East Corps, consisting of Arab nations, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan; Latin America Corps, consisting of Central America, South America and the Caribbean; and Indo-Pacific Corps, consisting of East Asia, Southeast Asia, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. One of the most drastic proposed changes would be eliminating the bureau of African affairs, which oversees policy in sub-Saharan Africa.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/us/politics/trump-state-department-overhaul.html

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The entire continent of Africa, with over 1 billion people, almost entirely wiped off the U.S. diplomatic map. Can't have relations with those "jungle bunnies".

Don't call it "a distraction" as they have now written up the plans to IMPLEMENT THIS. And they WILL implement it as long as you have people running around the country claiming this is "economic" and "not a hill to die on".

"Price of eggs", "Kitchen table issues", "Working class".