The United States is preparing to close several overseas diplomatic posts, including missions in Canada and Japan, as part of President Donald Trump’s wider drive to shrink what his administration views as an oversized federal bureaucracy. The government has already faced deep cuts since Trump returned to office, with the State Department hit by mass layoffs last year. Now, the department has informed Congress that it intends to shut five foreign missions, marking an unusual reduction in America’s global diplomatic footprint, according to people familiar with the notification. The posts slated for closure are in St. George’s, Grenada; Nagoya, Japan; Medan, Indonesia; Douala, Cameroon; and Winnipeg, Canada. The people spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity because the notice has not been made public. The planned closures, which had not previously been reported, stand out because they are not linked to a specific geopolitical crisis or event.
Trump team targets foreign missions for closure
The move follows discussions that began early last year, in the opening months of the Trump administration, when the State Department started preparing to close nearly a dozen foreign missions, according to media reports at the time. The effort was part of a broader push by the Republican president to reshape the federal government around his “America First” agenda. The White House Office of Management and Budget had pressed for an even larger round of cuts, seeking to target as many as 30 overseas posts. Some officials inside the administration have privately argued that smaller diplomatic missions are not essential and do not justify their operating costs.
Diplomatic cuts spark leadership concerns
Democrats, along with some former foreign policy and national security officials, warn that reducing the US diplomatic presence abroad could weaken American leadership. They argue the risk is even greater when combined with the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development, which had delivered billions of dollars in assistance around the world. Critics say the retreat could create openings for rivals such as China and Russia to expand their influence. Although the State Department carried out a sweeping bureaucratic overhaul last year, eliminating dozens of bureaus and hundreds of staff positions, no foreign missions were closed at that time. Asked for comment on Sunday, the department did not confirm the planned closures but said it remained focused on making the nation’s diplomatic footprint efficient and effective.
Consulates help extend US diplomatic reach
The State Department also said it was committed to following the required congressional notification process. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended the administration’s cost-cutting measures, describing them as necessary to “right-size” an institution many conservatives regard as bloated and overly bureaucratic. The US mission in St. George’s, Grenada, is an embassy. The posts in Medan, Winnipeg and Nagoya are consulates, while the Douala post is classified as an “embassy branch office.” Consulates and branch offices generally handle US interests in regions outside a country’s capital, where the main American embassy is usually based.
State Department shrinks as diplomacy shifts
Under former President Joe Biden, the US opened several foreign missions, all in the Pacific region, where Washington has been competing with Beijing for influence. China does not currently operate a functioning foreign mission in Douala or Winnipeg, but it does maintain a diplomatic presence in St. George’s, Nagoya and Medan. In July 2025, Rubio announced a broad reorganization of the State Department, saying the agency’s “bloated” bureaucracy and “radical political ideology” needed to be eliminated. The changes were part of Trump’s stated goal of “deconstructing the administrative state” and reducing the size of the federal government, beginning with the State Department, where nearly 1,800 positions were cut.
State Department trims unfilled roles, not staff
Rubio said officials had taken “a very deliberate step to reorganize the State Department to be more efficient and more focused.” Speaking to reporters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he was attending the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, he said the changes were “not a consequence of trying to get rid of people.” He added: “But if you close the bureau, you don’t need those positions.” Rubio stressed that some of the reductions involved positions rather than employees, including roles that were already vacant or expected to become vacant because staff had taken early retirement.
