The News
Reports that the Trump administration may be planning a sweeping overhaul of the US State Department have sparked confusion in Washington and concerns over the implications for America’s presence abroad.
A purported draft executive order proposes various cuts, including eliminating a bureau devoted to sub-Saharan Africa and closing “nonessential” embassies and consulates across the region.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the report was “fake news,” but the jitters in Washington “underscored how alarmed many are about the lengths the Trump administration will go to to reshape the State Department,” Politico wrote.
The administration is planning to slash the department’s budget, a move that would equate to the “demolishing of our international influence instruments,” one former official said.