Kenyans To Lose Embassy, Bureau Jobs Following Trump’s Announcement
Kenyans working with US embassies and bureaus around the world may face job cuts after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced an overhaul of the US State Department on Tuesday.
As part of the Trump administration’s “America First” mandate, the department plans to decrease its workforce by 15% by closing and consolidating more than 100 offices and bureaus globally.
According to an internal memo, Congress has been informed about the plan, which would abolish 132 of the State Department’s 734 bureaus and offices.
A total of 137 offices will be relocated within the department to “increase efficiency,” according to a fact sheet acquired by Reuters.
According to Rubio, the department’s current structure is bloated and incapable of carrying out its critical diplomatic job.
The departments will also be restructured to decrease staff numbers, with the reforms expected to take effect on July 1 this year.
“In its current form, the Department is bloated, bureaucratic, and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission in this new era of great power competition,” a statement from the State Department read in part.
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
“Over the past 15 years, the Department’s footprint has had unprecedented growth, and costs have soared. But far from seeing a return on investment, taxpayers have seen less effective and efficient diplomacy.”
It continued: “This approach will empower the Department from the ground up, from the bureaus to the embassies.
“Region-specific functions will be consolidated to increase functionality, redundant offices will be removed, and non-statutory programs that are misaligned with America’s core national interests will cease to exist.”
However, it was not immediately apparent how many individuals would be laid off as a result of the restructuring, but the Office of Global Women’s Issues is among the bureaus slated to be reduced.
The department’s diversity and inclusion efforts, which have been reduced across the board since President Donald Trump took office in January, are also slated to be closed.
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A “reimagined” office focused on diplomatic and humanitarian issues will coordinate the State Department’s surviving foreign assistance programs.
This comes after the recent closure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
If this strategy is implemented, it could jeopardize the lifting of the freeze on USAID, potentially impacting thousands of workers whose lives rely on the program.
The program, which was established on November 3, 1961, by President John F. Kennedy via Executive Order 10973, may face greater ambiguity in the future.
Kenyans To Lose Embassy, Bureau Jobs Following Trump’s Announcement
