The Trump administration has proposed dismantling several key offices at the U.S. State Department. What do these reforms mean for American influence, global leadership, and the future of U.S. foreign policy?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has released the Trump administration’s plans for reorganizing the State Department—a first step toward reducing what the White House calls a bloated and inefficient bureaucracy. The proposed reforms could reshape U.S. engagement with the world, ending America’s human rights advocacy, shuttering key diplomatic offices, and threatening the very infrastructure that supports global U.S. leadership. With Congress holding the purse strings and foreign governments watching closely, how far will these reforms go—and at what cost to American influence and values abroad?
In this episode, Jacob Heilbrunn speaks with Paul Saunders, the president of the Center for the National Interest, to unpack the significance and potential consequences of the announcement. Saunders previously served in the George W. Bush Administration from 2003 to 2005 as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs.
Image: Secretary Marco Rubio holds a press availability in Brussels, Belgium, April 4, 2025. (Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett)
