WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration has asked US embassies worldwide to prepare for staff cuts, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, as part of the Republican president’s effort to overhaul the US diplomatic corps.
The sources said some embassies had been asked to look into reducing both US staff as well as locally-employed staff by 10 percent each, with a list of the workforce due to be sent to the State Department by Friday, which will then determine further actions.
US embassies around the world employ both diplomats and local staff. Most embassy staff come from the host country, according to the National Museum of American Diplomacy.
Separately, a US official said that around 60 contractors at the State Department’s bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor had been terminated in recent weeks and that there was a possibility of further cuts in other bureaus.
ABC News first reported that US embassies had been told to start planning for staff reductions.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The moves come as Trump tries to reshape the diplomatic corps, issuing on Wednesday an executive order directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revamp the foreign service to ensure “faithful and effective implementation” of his foreign policy agenda.
The order, which follows efforts to dismantle the US Agency for International Development, comes as Trump makes changes to ensure US foreign policy is aligned with his “America First” agenda. He has also repeatedly pledged to “clean out the deep state” by firing bureaucrats that he deems disloyal.
The order, which was titled “One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations” also says failure to implement the president’s agenda is grounds for professional discipline, which may result in firing personnel.
“The Secretary must maintain an exceptional workforce of patriots to implement this policy effectively,” the order read.
The order also directs a potential revamp of the Foreign Affairs Manual, a comprehensive set of policies and procedures that lay out how the State Department operates, at home and abroad.
Just hours after taking office on January 20, Trump ordered a freeze of most US foreign aid to ensure it was aligned with his “America First” policies. USAID, the chief US humanitarian agency, became the first target of the effort led by billionaire Elon Musk, a close Trump ally, to reduce the size of the US government.
Since January 20, Musk has dispatched members of his Department of Government Efficiency to scrutinize sensitive personnel and payment information in government computer systems. Aside from USAID, he led the drive to also dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency that protects Americans from unscrupulous lenders.
US embassies told to prepare for staff cuts as Trump overhauls diplomatic corps
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US embassies told to prepare for staff cuts as Trump overhauls diplomatic corps
- US president tries to reshape diplomatic corps to align with 'America First' agenda
- 60 contractors terminated at State Department's bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Bangladesh’s religio-political party open to unity govt
- Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years
DHAKA: A once-banned Bangladeshi religio-political party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in February’s parliamentary vote, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief said.
Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years as it marks a return to mainstream politics in the predominantly Muslim nation of 175 million.
Jamaat last held power between 2001 and 2006 as a junior coalition partner with the BNP and is open to working with it again.
“We want to see a stable nation for at least five years. If the parties come together, we’ll run the government together,” Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman said in an interview at his office in a residential area in Dhaka, days after the party created a buzz by securing a tie-up with a Gen-Z party.
Rahman said anti-corruption must be a shared agenda for any unity government.
The prime minister will come from the party winning the most seats in the Feb. 12 election, he added. If Jamaat wins the most seats, the party will decide whether he himself would be a candidate, Rahman said.
The party’s resurgence follows the ousting of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a youth-led uprising in August 2024.
Rahman said Hasina’s continued stay in India after fleeing Dhaka was a concern, as ties between the two countries have hit their lowest point in decades since her downfall.
Asked about Jamaat’s historical closeness to Pakistan, Rahman said: “We maintain relations in a balanced way with all.”
He said any government that includes Jamaat would “not feel comfortable” with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed with the Awami League’s backing in 2023.
