The President wants to see "significant changes" in the US presence abroad, according to internal Foreign Ministry documents that CNN has taken part of. These suggest, among other things, reductions in the giant embassies in Somalia and Iraq, which for several years have played a significant role in the country's fight against terrorism.
The documents propose that ten embassies and 17 consulates be closed, most of them in Europe and Africa. Among these are embassies in Malta, Luxembourg, Lesotho, Congo-Brazzaville, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan. Five consulates in France, two in Germany, as well as consulates in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the United Kingdom, and South Africa are also at risk of being shut down.
It is unclear whether Foreign Minister Marco Rubio has approved the proposed closures.
To streamline the government apparatus and reduce expenditures was one of Donald Trump's most prominent campaign promises. The appointment of tech billionaire Elon Musk as "efficiency chief" and leader of the White House initiative Doge is an important part of this. Earlier this spring, among other things, the aid agency USAID was shut down and tens of thousands of government employees were bought out.
