Trump signed an executive order that looks to weaken nonpartisanship in U.S. foreign relations. The order, named One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations, ensures employees working in the Foreign Service abide by Trump’s standards for his America First Policy Directive, an EO he signed on January 20, 2025, which claims the country’s foreign policy must always put the U.S. first.
One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations states that any employee in the foreign relations service whom fails to implement Trump’s “America first” agenda could be subject to termination at the discretion of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Through the order, the Secretary holds the power to reform the recruitment process of the foreign relations department in order to ensure incoming employees are “committed to faithful implementation of the President’s foreign policy.” The secretary may now also replace the Foreign Affairs Manual as well as any “handbooks, procedures, or guidance” from any agency that works under the foreign relations department.
The order looks to set forth a loyalty-driven, partisan workforce in the foreign relations department that disseminates Trump’s agenda. Trump’s foreign relation strategy involves threatening to annex Canada, expressing desire to invade Panama to retake the canal, offering to buy Greenland, as well as imposing sanctions on the United States’ closest allies.
