The United States would drastically reduce its diplomatic footprint in Africa and scrap State Department offices dealing with climate change, democracy and human rights, according to a draft White House order published by The New York Times newspaper.
On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied the report. He said The New York Times had fallen “victim to another hoax.”
“This is fake news,” Rubio posted on X.
However, a copy of the draft viewed by AFP calls for “full structural reorganization” of the State Department by October 1 of this year.
The aim, the draft order says, is “to streamline mission delivery, project American strength abroad, cut waste, fraud, abuse, and align the Department with an America First Strategic Doctrine.”
The biggest change would be organizing US diplomatic efforts into four regions: Eurasia, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia-Pacific -- with no equivalent focus on Africa.
The current Africa Bureau would be eliminated. In its place would be a “Special Envoy Office for African Affairs” who reports to the White House's internal National Security Council, rather than the State Department.
“All non-essential embassies and consulates in Sub-Saharan Africa shall be closed,” the draft order says, with all remaining missions consolidated under a special envoy “using targeted, mission-driven deployments.”
While the draft executive order obtained by AFP has not been discussed publicly by officials, it comes amid a flurry of moves to cut decades-old US initiatives and to question long-held alliances, including with NATO.
An earlier proposed plan leaked to US media would see the State Department's entire budget slashed by half.
The new draft order says current offices dealing with climate change, oceans, global criminal justice, and human rights would be “eliminated.”
The US footprint in Canada -- a historic US ally that President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested should be annexed and made a 51st state -- would likewise get a downgrade.
The diplomatic presence would see a “significantly reduced team” and the embassy in Ottawa would “significantly downscale.”
