The US State Department has notified Congress of plans to close five consulates and diplomatic missions in Winnipeg (Canada), Nagoya (Japan), St George's (Grenada), Medan (Indonesia), and Douala (Cameroon), citing cost savings and a reassessment of bilateral priorities under President Donald Trump. Critics, including senior Senate Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, warn the closures risk creating a diplomatic vacuum that China — which already maintains a presence in three of the five locations — could exploit to undermine American interests. The move is part of a broader drawdown of US diplomatic capacity under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which has already seen over 1,300 State Department staff dismissed and more than half of the country's ambassadorial posts left unfilled worldwide.