Marco Rubio plans to close offices in major State Department overhaul

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a meeting of the Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias Task Force at the Justice Department in Washington on Tuesday. | REUTERS

Wires
April 23, 2025

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced plans to reorganize what he called a "bloated” State Department, vowing Tuesday to cut programs and close offices but stopping short of a proposed executive order that outlined even more drastic changes.

The top U.S. diplomat circulated a new organizational chart that would downgrade the office that oversees democracy and human rights. It would also shut offices responsible for women’s issues, global health security, and diversity and inclusion.

Rubio’s plan is in keeping with example set by billionaire Elon Musk’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, which previously shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development and put its functions under direct control of the State Department, department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.