Trump administration wants to nearly halve state department budget

US President Donald Trump's administration wants to slash the state department budget by about half, according to internal planning documents reviewed by Reuters, a reduction that could see nearly 30 US missions shut and steep cuts to foreign aid.

The proposed cuts of nearly $30bn (R571.3bn) in fiscal 2026 are outlined in a “passback”, the response by the White House budget office, to state department funding requests for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on October 1.

While the department can request revisions, one US official said the final version likely will be changed only “a tad” before it is submitted for approval to Congress, where “the chances are high” some funds will be restored.

The internal document was first reported by the Washington Post.

As part of the plan, which is yet to be finalised, the administration is considering a recommendation to close at least 27 US missions mostly in Africa and in Europe, according to a separate internal memo seen by Reuters. Ten of the missions are embassies and the rest are consulates.

The state department, the White House and the office of management and budget (OMB) did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

The deliberations come as the Trump administration and billionaire Elon Musk’s department of government efficiency (DOGE) pursue a rapid and massive downsizing of the federal government, cutting billions in spending and terminating thousands of employees.

During Trump's first term he proposed cutting about a third of US diplomacy and aid budgets. But Congress, which sets the federal US government budget, pushed back on Trump's proposal.

The summary of the OMB passback reviewed by Reuters calls for a FY2026 budget for the state department of $28.4bn (R540.8bn), compared to $54.4bn (R1-trillion) for the current fiscal year.

It also proposes slashing foreign assistance distributed by the state department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from $38.3bn (R729.3bn) to $16.9bn (R321.8bn).

Any requests for revisions, the document says, “must be explicitly appealed” no later than noon on Tuesday.

The OMB document noted the administration is closing USAID, merging some of its functions into the state department and terminating programmes that “are duplicative or inconsistent with administration priorities”.

The administration and DOGE began dismantling USAID in February. More than 5,000 programmes have been closed, hundreds of contractors fired and termination notices sent to thousands of personnel and staff.

The OMB document said major international disaster assistance and refugee programmes would be eliminated and new $2.5bn (R47.6bn) international humanitarian assistance and $1.5bn (R28.5bn) presidential emergency refugee and migration programmes created.

The latter would be used for “urgent and new crises at home and abroad”, it said, adding the new approach puts “the interests of American citizens first”.

The document said there would be no funds for Enduring Welcome, the programme that funds the evacuation and resettlement in the US of Afghans, including those at risk of Taliban retaliation because they worked for the US government during the 20-year war.

OMB proposed eliminating of the department's educational and cultural programming, including the Fulbright programme, established in 1946, that sends US graduate students abroad to study, conduct research or teach English.

The 10 embassies being considered for closure are based in Eritrea, Grenada, Lesotho, Central African Republic, Luxembourg, Republic of the Congo, the Gambia, South Sudan, Malta and the Maldives, according to the second document reviewed by Reuters.

Among the 17 consulates recommended for a shutdown, more than a dozen are based in Europe, some of which previously have been reported by Reuters. The remaining four are the US missions in Busan in South Korea, Durban in SA, Medan in Indonesia and Douala in Cameroon.

The memo is also looking at ways to consolidate large missions such as the ones in Japan and Canada by resizing a number of consulates in the country to reduce the footprint.

The recommendations call for reducing the size of US posts in Mogadihsu, Somalia and Iraq, which the memo described as “by far the most expensive diplomatic mission” Washington operates.

Reuters