Exterior signage outside the Harry S. Truman Federal Building, the Washington headquarters of the U.S. Department of State. (Photo Credit: Reuters)The US State Department has notified Congress that it plans to close five overseas missions in what would be a rare reduction of America’s global diplomatic presence not tied to a specific geopolitical event, according to people familiar with the notice.The notice, sent to some congressional committees late last week, said the department 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 condition of anonymity because it had not been made public. The expected closures had not previously been reported.How far did earlier closure plans go?During the opening months of the Trump administration early last year, the State Department began preparations to close nearly a dozen foreign missions, Reuters and other media outlets reported at the time.The preparations were part of a broader push by the Republican president to transform the US bureaucracy so that it was fully aligned with his “America First” agenda.The White House Office of Management and Budget had advocated an even more ambitious closure programme targeting as many as 30 foreign missions. Some administration officials have privately argued that some smaller foreign missions are inessential and not cost-effective.The State Department underwent a broad bureaucratic overhaul last year, cutting dozens of bureaus and hundreds of staff, but no foreign missions were closed.US secretary of state Marco Rubio has portrayed the cost-cutting measures as necessary to right-size an organization that many conservatives regard as bloated and overly bureaucratic.Has the State Department confirmed the closures?Asked for comment on Sunday, the State Department issued a statement that did not confirm the proposed closures but said it was focused on ensuring that the nation’s diplomatic footprint was efficient and effective.The department also said it was committed to following congressional notification procedures.Could the cuts weaken US influence?Democrats and some former foreign policy and national security officials argue that cuts to the US diplomatic footprint, coupled with the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development, which provided billions of dollars’ worth of aid globally, risk undermining American leadership and leaving a dangerous vacuum for adversaries such as China and Russia to fill.Which US diplomatic posts would be affected?The US mission in St George’s, Grenada, is an embassy. The posts in Medan, Winnipeg and Nagoya are consulates, while the post in Douala is an “embassy branch office”.Consulates and branch offices typically represent US interests in regions outside a foreign country’s capital, where the US embassy is typically located.During former president Joe Biden’s administration, the US government opened several foreign missions, all in the Pacific region, where the US is competing with China for influence.China does not have a functioning foreign mission in Douala or Winnipeg, but it has a diplomatic presence in St George’s, Nagoya and Medan.