Politico reports that the US embassy in Luxembourg is among ten missions proposed for permanent closure under a sweeping State Department cost-cutting plan, raising concerns over America's diplomatic footprint in Europe.
Date: Tuesday, 15 April 2025
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Politico reports that the US embassy in Luxembourg is among ten missions proposed for permanent closure under a sweeping State Department cost-cutting plan, raising concerns over America's diplomatic footprint in Europe.
President Donald Trump is considering closing up to three dozen U.S. consulates around the world as part of massive cuts to the State Department's budget.
Those cuts also include all funds for United Nations, many of its agencies and for NATO headquarters. It also cuts all of the State Department's educational and cultural exchanges, like the Fulbright Program.
Under the proposal, 10 embassies and 17 consulates would be closed, Punchbowl News reported.
Five of the proposed consulate closures are in France: Lyon, Rennes, Bordeaux, Strasbourg and Marseille. Two are in Germany: Düsseldorf and Leipzig. The list also includes Edinburgh and Florence.
Other outposts in including Eritrea, Luxembourg, South Sudan and Malta would be shuttered with those embassies being in folded into embassies in nearby countries.
The Trump administration also proposed making U.S. missions to international organizations as part of the U.S. embassies and consulates in those cities.
Trump hasn't nominated ambassadors to either organization.
The president has pushed an America first policy that has seen him raise tariffs on imports in an attempt to ramp up manufacturing in the United States. But his moves also have frustrated allies around the world.
Meanwhile, Trump is also weighing whether to slash the budgets of the State Department and USAID by nearly half as part of his quest to cut the size and scope of the federal government.
His budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 allocates $28.4 billion to State and USAID, which is down from $54.4 billion in year 2025. That is a 48 percent cut.
That amount accounts for the dismantling of USAID and the parts of the agency being absorbed by State.
Much of the cuts would be to programs promote democracy, support educational and cultural exchanges, aid multinational institutions, fight drug trafficking, and tackle health challenges abroad, Politico reported.
The White House is also pushing $2.1 billion in funds for a new program called the America First Opportunities Fund.
It's unclear where Secretary of State Marco Rubio stands on the cuts. He has objected to some of the slashing of his department and to how the dismantling of USAID was handled.
Trump's budget proposal is expected to be presented to Congress in late April.
Congress, however, doesn't have to follow White House requests when it comes to the budget.
The final numbers will likely change during the lengthy budget negotiations.
