The US may cut the Department of International Religious Freedom

According to several influential media outlets, the US administration is considering a major reorganization of the State Department, which includes the reduction of departments such as International Religious Freedom, Human Rights, Women’s Rights, Africa, and Climate Change. The draft executive order proposes increasing control by the White House over the foreign policy service and transitioning to a more tightly controlled model of diplomacy. This information comes from the source Religion in Ukraine.

Despite denials from the State Department, which called the document a «forgery,» both The New York Times and The Guardian report that the executive order could be signed soon. If the plan is implemented, it will become the largest reform of the department since 1789.

The document proposes the elimination of several key offices, including the Office of Global Women’s Issues, the Bureau of Environmental Affairs, and the Office of Afghan Women’s Rights. It also changes the format for selecting diplomats: instead of transparent competitions, subjective criteria such as «charisma» and alignment with the president’s «foreign policy vision» will be introduced.

Amid these changes, the website of the Office of International Religious Freedom focuses exclusively on combating antisemitism. Meanwhile, the position of Special Envoy for Religious Freedom remains vacant following the resignation of Rashad Hussein on the day of the new president’s inauguration.

It is also worth noting that on April 22, 2025, the first meeting of the Committee for Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias in the Federal Government took place in Washington, with the participation of US Attorney General Pamela Bondi. The target group, created by President Trump in accordance with Executive Order No. 14202, includes peaceful American Christians who have faced unjust attacks from the Biden administration due to their religious beliefs.