Majorly overhauling the State Department will both align it with President Trump’s vision for the United States and will save taxpayers money by ridding itself of bureaucracy and duplication, according to White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly.
“This president is working hand in glove with all of our cabinet secretaries and certainly with Secretary [Marco] Rubio on rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government. There is truly no more target-rich environment than our entire foreign assistance enterprise,” Kelly told Newsmax.
On Tuesday, Rubio announced his intention to overhaul the State Department by reducing staff in the U.S. by 15%, as well as consolidating over 100 bureaus worldwide.
“We cannot win the battle for the 21st century with bloated bureaucracy that stifles innovation and misallocates scarce resources. That is why, under the leadership of President Trump and at my direction, I am announcing a reorganization of the Department so it may meet the immense challenges of the 21st Century and put America First,” Rubio said in a department-wide email.
Kelly added that “[S]tate is an organization, for example, that has doled out $40 billion a year in foreign assistance with almost no oversight.”
Rubio is “doing an outstanding job to make sure all of our foreign assistance aligns with the goals and foreign policy vision of this country and eliminating many duplicative efforts,” Kelly said.
Kelly said that Trump is adamant that a deal needs to be reached, stating that “[N]o other president has been more committed to promoting peace, to stopping the killing, and ending this endless war that has been going on for far too long.”
Today is the day. Under @POTUS’ leadership and at my direction, we are reversing decades of bloat and bureaucracy at the State Department.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 22, 2025
These sweeping changes will empower our talented diplomats to put America and Americans first. pic.twitter.com/CGWz3JrYwu