Secretary of State Marco Rubio's plan to streamline what he called the "bloated" State Department by slashing staff and closing or consolidating bureaus was widely criticized Tuesday as a dangerous retreat from diplomacy and soft power that would weaken U.

Marco Rubio's first step toward overhauling the State Department is drawing fierce criticisms. The secretary's second step might actually be worse.

The Trump administration terminated State Department employees at the Office of Global Change, a key federal agency in charge of climate policy and aid.