Us State Department Unveils Massive Overhaul Of Agency With Reduction Of Staff And Bureaus

Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a massive overhaul of the State Department on Tuesday, with plans to reduce staff in the U.S. by 15 while closing and consolidating more than 100 bureaus worldwide as part of the Trump administration's "America First" mandate.

The reorganization plan, announced by Rubio on social media and detailed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, is the latest effort by the White House to reimagine U.S. foreign policy and scale back the size of the federal government .

"We cannot win the battle for the 21st century with bloated bureaucracy that stifles innovation and misallocates scarce resources," Rubio said in a department-wide email obtained by The AP. "That is why, under the leadership of President Trump and at my direction, I am announcing a reorganization of the Department so it may meet the immense challenges of the 21st Century and put America First."

Plans include consolidating 734 bureaus and offices to 602 as well as transitioning 137 offices "to another location within the Department to increase efficiency," according to a fact sheet obtained by The AP.

It is unclear if the reorganization would be implemented through an executive order or other means. The plans come a week after The AP learned that the White House's Office of Management and Budget proposed gutting the State Department's budget by almost 50 and eliminating funding the United Nations and NATO headquarters.