The Trump administration is weighing a plan to shut down 10 embassies and 17 consulates, while also cutting or merging staff at several other diplomatic missions abroad.
The closures and staffing cuts detailed in an undated internal State Department memo, obtained by The New York Times, would significantly scale back the U.S. diplomatic footprint across nearly every continent, with Africa bearing the greatest impact, a region already strained by the Trump administration’s protectionist policies.
Of the 10 embassies proposed for closure in the memo, six are embassies in Africa: the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Gambia, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. The memo suggests that their responsibilities be transferred to U.S. embassies in neighbouring countries.
The proposed cuts align with President Trump’s push to shrink federal spending across government agencies. However, the plan still requires congressional approval and could change.
The newly proposed reductions have sparked renewed concerns that the U.S. may be giving up critical diplomatic ground to China, particularly in regions where Washington currently holds a stronger presence than Beijing.
Critics warn that scaling back could weaken American national security by limiting diplomatic engagement and hindering intelligence-gathering capabilities.
The memo further proposes shutting down two smaller embassies in Europe, Luxembourg and Malta, as well as the diplomatic missions in Grenada and the Maldives. Their responsibilities would be transferred to U.S. embassies in nearby countries.
Most of the consulates marked for closure are located in Europe, including several in popular tourist cities. In France alone, five consulates, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes, and Strasbourg, are recommended for closure. Germany could lose its consulates in Düsseldorf and Leipzig, while Bosnia and Herzegovina may see closures in Mostar and Banja Luka.
Other European cities listed include Thessaloniki in Greece, Florence in Italy, Ponta Delgada in Portugal, and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom.
Beyond Europe, the memo also recommends closing four more consulates: in Douala, Cameroon; Medan, Indonesia; Durban, South Africa; and Busan, South Korea.
