Some of these ideas have been telegraphed in public orders and statements from Trump and others. Additional details about the strategy and what will be cut were described to POLITICO by a person familiar with internal State Department discussions and a former U.S. official with ties to the Trump team. POLITICO also reviewed private documents that provide insight into the plans, which remain fluid. Several people were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive issues.

One key to this plan will be cutting embassies. POLITICO reports that Secretary of State Maroc Rubio “is on board with cutting a significant number” of embassies, according to someone “familiar with the internal discussions.” To that end, the State Department is asking other departments and agencies to rank U.S. embassies by importance, aiming to identify those that can be cut.

The State Department Executive Secretariat has asked the Defense Department, the CIA, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, among others, to rank U.S. embassies in order of importance to their work, according to a State Department official who has seen the request. That official and a second State official said the Pentagon has tasked combatant commands around the world to report back with their respective lists.

The first official said the departments and agencies were to score embassies on a zero to 10 scale (10 being the most important). A quarter of the embassies in each region must be given scores between zero and two; a quarter must score from three to five; and half can receive scores from six to 10, the person said. The criteria to be considered include the department or agency’s overall budget devoted to its presence at the embassy, including for facilities maintenance and the importance of the embassy in the agency or department’s policy priorities, the official said.

POLITICO also obtained a list of potential consulates that could be cut. The targets mentioned are in Rennes, Lyon, Strasbourg, and Bordeaux in France; Dusseldorf, Leipzig, and Hamburg in Germany; Florence, Italy; Ponta Delgada, Portugal; and Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Supporters of this shakeup claim it will create a “more focused but still flexible Foreign Service.” It would also, of course, save money, a goal that the President and DOGE have been fixated on. Critics, however, fear these reforms could damage the nation in the long term, allowing communist China to expand its global influence and fill the gaps left by vanishing U.S. embassies.

Regardless, as changes are being made, it is important that we remain steadfast in prayer. Let’s pray that President Trump and Secretary Rubio act wisely and that they made decisions that honor God and bless America.

What do you think of President Trump’s plans for the State Department? Share your thoughts and prayers below.

(Photo Credit: U.S. Embassy Jerusalem – https://www.flickr.com/photos/46886434@N04/54335441209/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=160001893)