The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has suggested cutting the State Department’s budget by nearly half. This plan includes shutting down several U.S. embassies and diplomatic offices abroad, reducing the number of diplomats, and stopping funding for almost all international organisations—such as the United Nations, many of its agencies, and NATO headquarters, according to officials.

The proposal, presented to the State Department last week and still in the early stages, is unlikely to be approved by the department's leadership or Congress, which will have the final say on the federal budget in the coming months. Sources familiar with the proposal say it still needs to go through several rounds of review before it reaches lawmakers. In the past, Congress has made changes to or even rejected White House budget requests. While the proposal is still in its early stages, it offers a glimpse into the Trump administration's priorities, which come at a time when there are major job and funding cuts across various federal agencies, including Health and Human Services, the Education Department, and the US Agency for International Development. Notes from an internal meeting about the proposal were shared in online chat groups among foreign service officers over the weekend, but things escalated on Monday when the State Department was set to present a separate, unrelated reorganisation plan to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

A senior US official, who is familiar with the OMB proposal, described it as aggressive in terms of cost-cutting. However, the official also pointed out that it was just an early outline, similar to what OMB director Russell Vought attempted to implement during President Donald Trump’s first administration when he held the same position. The official requested anonymity to discuss internal administration matters. Two people familiar with the matter confirmed the proposal, with one mentioning that it came from OMB. However, OMB spokesperson Alexandra McCandless stated that no final decisions on funding have been made yet.

OMB's attempts to significantly cut the State Department's budget during Trump's first term faced strong opposition in Congress and were mostly unsuccessful. Trump's second term has quickly focused on reducing the size of the federal government, cutting jobs and funding in various agencies. His administration has already begun to dismantle USAID and has taken steps to cut funding for other important foreign policy organisations, such as the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Radio Free Asia, and Radio/TV Marti, which broadcasts to Cuba.

State Department officials and others are becoming more worried that the proposed major cuts might actually happen. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire, who is the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed strong concern about the reported proposed cuts. “When America First becomes America Alone, our economy, security and prosperity will suffer as adversaries fill the void the Trump Administration leaves behind," Shaheen said in a statement. “Investments in diplomatic programs that promote peace and stability, and advance American national security interests are commonsense priorities that should be reflected in the State Department's budget request.”