The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has announced a proposed reorganisation of the US state department as part of what he called an effort to reform it amid criticism from the Trump White House over the execution of US diplomacy. The reorganisation will close a number of overseas missions, reduce staff and minimise offices dedicated to promoting liberal values in a stated goal to subsume them to regional bureaus. “The sprawling bureaucracy created a system more beholden to radical political ideology than advancing America’s core national interests,” Rubio said in a statement. “That is why today I am announcing a comprehensive reorganization plan that will bring the Department in to the 21st Century.” “This approach will empower the Department from the ground up, from the bureaus to the embassies,” he said. “Region-specific functions will be consolidated to increase functionality, redundant offices will be removed, and non-statutory programs that are misaligned with America’s core national interests will cease to exist.” More details soon …