President Donald Trump’s State Department reportedly has closed nearly 30 embassies and consulates as part of a plan to significantly cut the agency’s budget.
State Department memo obtained by New York Post and Some other Outlet The agency has revealed it has outlined a strategy to cut spending by $26 billion next year. The latest budget proposal proposed cutting agency funds by almost half compared to the previous fiscal year.
“The President has made it clear that he is committed to reducing the federal deficit and improving the return on investment for the American people.”
The agency will work to achieve these savings by cutting diplomatic engagement work by $4.5 billion and ending $21.5 billion in foreign aid, the Post reported. This document weighed novel funding for the United Nations and NATO.
Additionally, the memo floated on closing at least 17 consulates and 10 embassies, including the UK, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, South Korea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Malta, Maldives, Grenada, Luxembourg, Lesotho, Lipolik in the Congo, South Sudan, and South Sudan Posts.
One Iraqi centre has been listed for potential closures, with the other two likely to see a “dramatic” decline in spending.
The proposed downsizing also considered consolidating forward posts from countries with multiple consulates, such as Japan and Canada.
A State Department spokesperson said, “The President has made it clear that he is committed to reducing the federal deficit and improving the return on investment for Americans.”
“As the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said, the administration’s funding decision will be reflected in the president’s budget request that will be provided to Congress anytime soon,” the spokesman said.
The closure has not yet been announced, but the representative added, “operation will continue as usual.”
Tammy Bruce, a spokesman for the department, proposed CNN The State Department’s report on memos was inaccurate.
“I encourage you to make sure you continue to bring budget plans and submit to Congress to the White House and the US president,” Bruce told the news outlet. “What we tend to see is to report early or incorrect based on leaked documents from somewhere unknown.”
At a briefing Tuesday, Bruce noted that there is “no final plan” in the annual budget, saying that the cost-cutting decision would be “up to the White House.”
“Whatever you see in public is not released from this entity, you can tell that you are not released from this department. It was not released by the secretary,” she said.
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