Rubio lays out detailed plan to restructure State Department to focus on Trump's priorities
The US State Department on Thursday formally told Congress it intends to make sweeping changes to focus on the Trump administration's priorities, including reducing immigration to the US and promoting the administration's worldview, with less emphasis on protecting and promoting human rights across the globe.
The proposed overhaul was announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in April. Thursday's more than 100 page long congressional notification lays out further details on the plan, which includes scores of office closures and mergers, renaming and restructuring offices, and firing staff at the headquarters in Washington, DC. It comes as the US State Department finalizes its plans to subsume the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and amid broader cuts throughout the federal government.
'The plan submitted to Congress was the result of thoughtful and deliberative work by senior Department leadership,' Rubio said in a statement. 'We have taken into account feedback from lawmakers, bureaus, and long-serving employees. The reorganization plan will result in a more agile Department, better equipped to promote America's interests and keep Americans safe across the world.'
The congressional notification – a copy of which was obtained by CNN – proposes an increased focus on migration and the border, rather than refugees, at the State Department. The Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration's 'existing migration functions will be consolidated into three new functional offices under a (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State) for Migration Matters.'
'Reflecting core Administration priorities, these offices will be substantially reorganized to shift focus towards supporting the Administration's efforts to return illegal aliens to their country of origin or legal status,' it states.
One of those 'functional offices' will be called the Office of Remigration and will be a 'hub for immigration issues and repatriation tracking.'
'It will provide a policy platform for interagency coordination with DHS and other agencies on removals/repatriations, and for intra-agency policy work to advance the President's immigration agenda' and will use State Department funds to 'actively facilitate the voluntary return of migrants to their country of origin or legal status.'
Much of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor 'will be focused on advancing the Administration's affirmative vision of American and Western values' with three offices under a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy & Western Values, the congressional notification says.
One office – the Office of Natural Rights – 'will ground the Department's values-based diplomacy in traditional western conceptions of core freedoms and advance the Department's affirmative vision of civil liberties.'
'For example, the office will build the foundation for criticisms of free speech backsliding in Europe and other developed nations,' it states, noting it will be staffed from the Bureau's eliminated European and Asian offices, as well as its policy planning and public diplomacy office.
Another office – the Office of Free Markets and Free Labor – 'will refocus existing international labor policy engagement toward the promotion of free market principles and efforts to ensure that American works compete in a fair and open global labor playing field,' it states.
The notification also confirms that USAID's international disaster assistance work will be folded into the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration – a move that has been highly criticized. USAID's disaster assistance response teams were highly trained and would be dispatched immediately in the wake of major disasters around the world. However, as the administration dismantled USAID, it also cut contracts critical to the disaster relief work and sources say folding the functions under the bureau at the State Department further exacerbates the problem.
The bureau 'is not prepared with the staffing, systems, or strategy to handle this absorption,' a State Department official focused on foreign aid told CNN.
'Absolutely nothing about this reorg is thoughtful or smart. It signals the end of a lot of functions of the US government that will render us completely irrelevant in a lot of international dynamics,' they said.
The notification says the disaster assistance functions will be overseen by a Senate-confirmed Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, who will report directly to the secretary of state. 'Until a Coordinator is confirmed by the Senate, the Department anticipates the duties and functions of the office to be performed by a former USAID foreign service officer with extensive experience in disaster and humanitarian response,' it states.
Notably, the State Department congressional notification says that no workforce cuts 'are planned for locally employed staff or U.S. direct hire personnel posted overseas.' Reports had swirled that locally employed staff could be impacted by the reorganization.
However, back in the US, the notification proposes 'reducing the workforce domestically by up to 3,448 personnel from a baseline staffing levels as of May 4, 2025.' That baseline staffing level was listed as 18,730. The proposed reduction includes a 10% cut – 1,873 personnel assigned to domestic offices – 'and up to 1,575 already indicated voluntary departures, such as through employee participation in the Department's two previously offered Deferred Resignation Programs (DRP).'
The domestic cuts would not 'impact personnel within Consular Affairs' passport or visa operations, federal DS Special Agents whose responsibilities include an active law enforcement and security role, or personnel assigned to a regional bureau country 'desk.''
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
5 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Can Trump Tackle US 'Chronic Disease Crisis'? Experts Weigh In
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vow to "Make America Healthy Again" could fall short when it comes to chronic disease, experts have warned. When the MAHA Commission report on chronic disease came out in May, President Donald Trump made it clear his administration was committed to tackling the epidemic "We will not stop until we defeat the chronic disease epidemic in America, we're going to get it done for the first time ever," said Trump during a MAHA event at the White House on May . In a statement included in the press release accompanying the report, Kennedy Jr. said: "We will end the childhood chronic disease crisis by attacking its root causes head-on—not just managing its symptoms." Nearly 130 million Americans are estimated to have at least one form of chronic disease, which could be heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity or hypertension, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts told Newsweek that, while the Trump administration's ambition to "defeat" the "epidemic" is clear, whether its policies will help or hinder chronic-disease patients remains to be seen. On one hand, Kennedy Jr.'s recent MAHA report, which detailed what the administration believed to be the leading causes of chronic disease in children, indicated the aim was to reduce the prevalence of chronic conditions through public education and research. On the other hand, the proposed cuts to Medicaid funding and work requirements for eligibility to the benefits, which are set to come as part of the broader GOP budget bill, could leave many with chronic disease without access to vital care. As many as three in four adults enrolled in Medicaid report having one or more chronic conditions, and many are unable to work the hours needed to meet the new eligibility requirements, according to nonprofit health policy research and news organization, KFF. So, while some may be medically exempt, others will lose their health coverage, meaning their conditions could worsen without access to care. Newsweek has contacted the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) via email on Tuesday. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty/Canva Tackling Chronic Disease Since he became health secretary, Kennedy Jr. has promised to increase research in the root causes of illness and ensure the American diet is full of high-quality foods, while limiting access to ultra-processed food and certain chemicals, which he believes are contributors to chronic disease. The report states that consumption of ultra-processed foods "has gone up at an exponential rate as share of the American diet." Earlier in the year, Kennedy, had described products from companies like Kellogg's and McDonald's as "mass poison to children." Prioritizing research on the issue is crucial, Kenneth E. Thorpe, a professor of health policy at Emory University, Georgia, and honorary chair of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD), told Newsweek. "Renewed focus on chronic disease and the impact that the U.S. diet has on it—focusing on artificial or chemical ingredients in food, particularly the impact of ultra processed foods—is important," he said. He added that this was because of the fact diet has "a direct impact on the growing rates of chronic conditions like obesity and obesity-related comorbidities such diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers and many more." "I applaud the Trump administration's focus on addressing the number one cause of death and disability in the U.S.—chronic, non-communicable disease," said Thorpe, who has been an advocate of chronic disease prevention in the U.S. for over 30 years. "We have more people with more chronic diseases, with just 5 percent of the population accounting for 50 percent of the costs in health care." He added that it is estimated that from 2016 to 2030 the cost of chronic disease will be in excess of $42 trillion. "The time is now to focus on the prevention and better management of chronic disease," Thorpe added. What Should the Trump Administration Do While it's too early to tell if the Trump administration is heading down the right path to lower chronic disease prevalence, Dr. Adrian Hernandez, director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute at the Duke University School of Medicine, told Newsweek that "leading indicators appear to be going the wrong way." He said this was partly because of the changes being proposed to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A proposal for the HHS, most of which was reported on in April, reduces by almost 40 percent its budget for 2026 and reveals major funding cuts for the NIH, according to CNN. Newsweek has contacted the NIH via email on Tuesday. Hernandez added that changes, such as the proposed cuts in federal funding, to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) were also going down the wrong path. Rather than cuts to these federal health agencies, Hernandez said tackling chronic disease will require "an investment" in science and health. He said that the same was needed for health care delivery models like Medicaid and Medicare—rather than making cuts to the programs, the administration should "invest in preventative health." The GOP budget bill, which is progressing through the legislative ranks, instructs the committee to reduce the Department of Health and Human Services budget by $880 billion over 10 years, which would include cuts to Medicaid alongside other measures such as implementing work requirements. Ross Brownson, director of the Prevention Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, told Newsweek that Medicaid cuts would "likely have a detrimental effect on chronic disease risk among the most vulnerable populations," adding Medicaid-enrolled adults have significantly higher rates of chronic disease than individuals privately insured. "The drive to defeat chronic disease stalls if Medicaid patients are placed in the backseat," Thorpe said. "Today, the federal program is far from perfect, but it is a lifeline for those who need it," Thorpe added, saying it was "often the only pathway to care" for many with chronic disease. 'A Long-Term Challenge' Experts insist that chronic disease is a deeply complex issue that requires long-term solutions and attention. Brownson noted that there has been "sparse attention to physical inactivity and tobacco use," as major risk factors for chronic disease. "This is a two-edged sword," Brownson told Newsweek. He said that while "on one hand, labeling this issue a crisis implies a sense of urgency and may mobilize action." Ultimately "the jury is still out on whether they will solve the chronic disease crisis." "We often have a short attention span and with this crisis label, policy makers may think the problem can be solved quickly and then move on to a new issue. We need to think of this as a long-term challenge in need of attention," he added.
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Two Chinese researchers charged with smuggling biological pathogen to study at University of Michigan lab
Two Chinese researchers were charged with smuggling a biological pathogen that they planned to study at a University of Michigan lab, a complaint filed Tuesday says. Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, were charged with conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud the United States, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements and visa fraud for bringing in the fungus Fusarium graminearum from China, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. Fusarium graminearum is described as 'a potential agroterrorism weapon' that can cause disease in certain plants like corn, rice and barley, and is 'responsible for billions of dollars in economic loss worldwide each year,' an FBI affidavit in support of the complaint says. The charges come as the Trump administration is looking to revoke visas for Chinese students, especially those with alleged 'connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week. The State Department has zeroed in on any potential wrongdoing from academics across the country in the last several months, including a Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryo remains. FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X that the case is 'a sobering reminder that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply, which would have grave consequences.' The affidavit doesn't specify what Jian and Liu's intentions were in studying the fungus. CNN reached out to the Federal Community Defender of the Eastern District of Michigan, who represents Jian, for comment. Jian, who was arrested by the FBI, remains in custody. Liu is not currently in the US, said Gina Balaya, public information officer for the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. Liu, who is a researcher at Zhejiang University in China, tried to bring in multiple samples of the fungus during a trip with a tourist visa in July 2024 and hadn't applied for a permit to bring it in, the affidavit says. Jian, his girlfriend, is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Laboratory at the University of Michigan, and previously worked at a university in Texas since August 2022, the affidavit says. Authorities found evidence that during her time at the two universities, the Chinese government funded her research on Fusarium graminearum at Zhejiang University, the affidavit says. Files found on Jian's phone included a signed 'annual self-assessment form' from the university, which described her research accomplishments from the previous year as well as an oath to follow the principles of the CCP, the affidavit says. Radio Free Asia previously reported on the practice, saying 'tens of thousands' of Chinese students using government-backed scholarships were required to sign the document. When Liu was questioned at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in July 2024, he initially claimed he didn't know what the materials containing the fungus were, but eventually admitted he intentionally hid the samples and planned to clone different strains at the University of Michigan lab where Jian worked, the affidavit says. Several devices seized from Liu, the affidavit says, showed messages where he coordinated with Jian to smuggle biological samples and other materials for the July 2024 trip as well as for a trip two years earlier. The University of Michigan said in a statement Tuesday they 'strongly condemn any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university's critical public mission,' and noted they recieved no funding from the Chinese government in relation to those charged. Jian appeared in court Tuesday but didn't enter a plea, Balaya said. She is scheduled to be in court for a detention hearing Thursday.
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China criticises Rubio remarks on 1989 Tiananmen protests
BEIJING (Reuters) -The United States, in its commemoration of the Tiananmen protests in 1989, "distorted" historical facts and attacked China's political system, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday. China has lodged a complaint to the U.S. side, Lin Jian, spokesperson at the Chinese ministry, said at a regular news conference. Chinese tanks rolled into the square on June 4, 1989, and troops opened fire to end pro-democracy demonstrations. The Communist Party has never released a death toll, though rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into the thousands. "Today we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as well as those who continue to suffer persecution as they seek accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday. "The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget," he said.
