Rubio Targets Bureaucratic 'Bloat,' Announces Massive Shake-Up at the State Department

The Trump administration has delivered plenty of change in its first three months—and the hectic pace shows no signs of slowing down. President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly have yuge plans for the State Department, and they involve cutting away a whole lot of fat.

The Trump administration has begun an aggressive shake-up at the State Department that will close 132 agency offices, including those launched to further human rights, advance democracy overseas, counter extremism, and prevent war crimes.
The plans to reorganize the leading foreign policy agency in the United States are outlined in internal documents obtained by The Free Press. They show how the State Department will eliminate or restructure hundreds of offices in Washington, D.C.—a revelation that comes after reports in recent weeks of a rumored overhaul at the agency. The State Department is bringing its number of offices down from 734 to 602, a 17 percent reduction.

Revealed: Trump Admin Launches the Biggest Shake-Up ‘In Decades’ at the State Departmenthttps://t.co/KFSJDQuHwe
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 22, 2025

Rubio explained the moves in a statement:

Today is the day. Under @POTUS’ leadership and at my direction, we are reversing decades of bloat and bureaucracy at the State Department.

These sweeping changes will empower our talented diplomats to put America and Americans first. pic.twitter.com/CGWz3JrYwu
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 22, 2025

Here is part of the post:

We are facing tremendous challenges across the globe. To deliver on President Trump’s America First foreign policy, we must make the State Department Great Again.
In its current form, the Department is bloated, bureaucratic, and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission in this new era of great power competition. Over the past 15 years, the Department’s footprint has had unprecedented growth and costs have soared. But far from seeing a return on investment, taxpayers have seen less effective and efficient diplomacy. The sprawling bureaucracy created a system more beholden to radical political ideology than advancing America’s core national interests.

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In the effort to reduce the size of the gargantuan federal government, Rubio wants to cut staff by at least 15 percent:

Separately, under secretaries at the State Department are also being instructed within 30 days to present plans to reduce their U.S. personnel in individual departments by 15 percent, according to a senior State Department official. These include six top offices employing thousands of people. The reorganization comes as the Trump administration seeks to drastically reduce the size and scope of the federal government.
This plan includes the elimination of 132 offices and 700 positions, said a congressional aide who reviewed the documents. Many others would be transferred or “reorganized,” though such changes were not clearly explained and left unanswered questions about how the proposed shake-up would functionally alter things, the aide said. This person, like some others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the proposal.

Expect plenty of bureaucratic and Democrat opposition to his plans—change is hard. But Rubio is determined to make the State Department great again:

Under President Trump’s leadership, we have a commander in chief committed to putting America and Americans first. As his Secretary of State, I am confident a reformed State Department will meet the moment and help make our country great once again.