Trump wants to halve State Dept budget

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

The proposed cuts of nearly $30 billion in fiscal 2026 are outlined in a so-called Passback, the response by the White House budget office — the Office of Management and Budget, or OMB — to State Department funding requests for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on Oct 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" that 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 finalized — the administration is considering a recommendation to close at least 27 US missions largely in Africa and Europe, according to a separate internal memo. Ten of those missions are embassies and the rest are consulates.

According to the notes from an internal State Department meeting, the budget proposal also calls for eliminating funding to the United Nations and other major organizations, including NATO.

The deliberations come as the Trump administration and billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency pursue a rapid and massive downsizing of the federal government, cutting billions of dollars in spending and terminating thousands of employees.

The summary of the OMB Passback reviewed by Reuters calls for a FY2026 budget for the State Department of $28.4 billion, compared to $54.4 billion for the current fiscal year.

The OMB document noted that the administration is closing USAID, merging some of its functions into the State Department and terminating programs that "are duplicative or inconsistent with administration priorities".

Agencies Via Xinhua