U.S. State Department closing consulates in Canada, Japan and Indonesia

The U.S. State Department has notified Congress that it plans to close five foreign missions in a rare downsizing of America’s global diplomatic footprint, according to people familiar with the notice. In the notice sent to some congressional committees late last week, the State Department said it planned to close its posts in St. George’s, Grenada; Nagoya, Japan; Medan, Indonesia; Douala, Cameroon; and Winnipeg, Canada. The people familiar with the notice spoke on the condition of anonymity because the notice was not public.The expected closures, which have not been previously reported, represent a rare example of the U.S. closing multiple foreign missions in a downsizing that is not tied to a particular geopolitical event.Early last year, during the opening months of the Trump administration, the State Department began preparations to shut down nearly a dozen foreign missions, Reuters and other media outlets reported at the time, as part of a broader push by the Republican president to transform the U.S. bureaucracy so that it is fully aligned with his “America First” agenda. Story continues below advertisement The White House Office of Management and Budget had advocated for an ...