US embassy in Luxembourg reportedly on Trump chopping block

After US officials in March said that Donald Trump was looking to close multiple embassies and consulates as part of a State Department cost-cutting drive, Politico has reported that the representation in Luxembourg could be on the chopping block.

Reuters in March headlined that the Trump administration was considering closing nearly a dozen offices in Western Europe in the coming months, listing consulates in Leipzig, Hamburg and Düsseldorf in Germany, and Bordeaux, Rennes, Lyon and Strasbourg in France.

US citizens in France protested outside the consulates against the move, which would leave them to rely on the embassy in Paris and the consulate in Marseille for support.

Politico in its National Security Daily newsletter on Monday added Luxembourg to the list of embassies that face closure, according to a document obtained by the publication including recommendations by the State Department’s undersecretary for management office.

Trump shortly after being elected president had named Stacey Feinberg as the next US ambassador to Luxembourg, but Feinberg is yet to complete her nomination process and formal Senate hearings. The businesswoman was a donor to Trump’s campaign.

The embassy has been without a resident ambassador since the departure of Thomas Barrett in January, who was nominated to the post by President Joe Biden.

The US and Luxembourg formally established diplomatic relations in 1903. The US legation in the country closed with the invasion of Nazi Germany in 1940, although ambassadors continued to present their credentials to the government in exile.

The legation resumed in 1944 with the liberation of the Grand Duchy by US troops although it would take until 1956 for the representation to be elevated to embassy status.

Since the end of WW2, the embassy is located in a historic building in Limpertsberg, which served as the headquarters of the Nazi “Gauleiter” (or governor) Gustav Simon.

A closure of the embassy would likely see activities move to Brussels, where many other countries host their embassies to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU.

The Luxembourg Times late on Monday contacted the US embassy and Luxembourg foreign ministry for comment.

A spokesperson from the Luxembourg foreign ministry told Luxembourg Times on Tuesday morning that: “Luxembourg is unaware of any plans by the US government to close its embassy in Luxembourg and has not been contacted by the US administration regarding this matter.”

Amended at 11:15 on Tuesday 15 April to include comment from Luxembourg foreign ministry