Secretary Rubio Starts Downsizing the Department of State

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I said right after the election the foreign policy and econ institutions would be the first and easiest to deconstruct. I also said the Intelligence, Main Justice, National Security and Defense apparatus would be the most difficult.

Here’s the high elevation picture of how it works. The more President Trump (the Executive Branch) doesn’t use the institution, the easier it is to take them apart. Foreign policy is being run out of the White House, with Rubio doing well. All economic policy is being run out of the White House, with Bessent and Lutnick doing well.

[Meanwhile, Trump is ignoring (for now) the CIA silo, as if they didn’t exist; but that cannot last long (see Ukraine). HHS, Ed, Energy, Interior and EPA are making slow and steady progress]

Conversely, President Trump leaves Pam Bondi (Justice), Kash Patel (FBI) and Tulsi Gabbard (DNI) to run/manage their own shops. It’s an issue of (in)ability, and you can see Main Justice and the FBI remains a hot mess. Bondi and Patel refuse to call their institutions corrupt, so the operators within them just keep doing what they have always done. This was predictable, if you just look honestly at the big picture dynamic.

Today, Marco Rubio starts taking apart around 20% of Foggy Bottom. “The Trump administration has begun an aggressive shake-up at the State Department that will close 132 agency offices, including those launched to further human rights, advance democracy overseas, counter extremism, and prevent war crimes.”

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