U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) claimed on May 18 that the United States has lost seven embassies under President Joe Biden in a speech at the 2024 Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention.
“We have lost, under Joe Biden’s presidency, seven United States embassies — seven. That has never occurred under any president in the history of our nation,” Donalds said.
An embassy is an official headquarters for U.S. diplomats and government representatives serving in a foreign country.
Donalds reiterated the claim in July during an interview with former ESPN anchor and podcast host Sage Steele. Multiple conservative news outlets and others online have made similar claims in the past year.
VERIFY readers Bryan and Christopher emailed VERIFY to ask if the U.S. has actually lost seven embassies since Biden took office.
THE QUESTION
Has the U.S. “lost” seven embassies during Joe Biden’s presidency?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, the U.S. has not “lost” seven embassies during Joe Biden’s presidency.
WHAT WE FOUND
The U.S. has not “lost” seven embassies since President Joe Biden took office, like U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and others have claimed, according to the U.S. Department of State.
“The Congressman’s statement and facts are incorrect,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email.
During Biden’s presidency, three U.S. embassies — in Afghanistan, Belarus and Sudan — have suspended and not resumed operations, each following unrest in those countries.
“Suspended operation is not a ‘closure’ or a ‘loss’ of an embassy,” the State Department spokesperson said.
That’s because all three embassies continue to operate from a U.S. embassy in another country “in order to continue supporting American citizens and advancing U.S. national security,” the State Department spokesperson said.
Donalds’ claims may stem from a letter that U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on March 26.
In the letter, Comer references a total of seven evacuations of non-emergency personnel, family or non-essential personnel at embassies in Burma, Russia, Niger and Haiti since Biden took office, following unrest in those countries. The letter also mentions the three embassies in Afghanistan, Belarus and Sudan.
But operations were not permanently suspended in Burma, Russia, Niger and Haiti, and those embassies remain open.
“In the Biden Administration, the decision to issue authorized or ordered departure (evacuations) has occurred 29 times. These statuses fluctuate as the situation in a country either improves or degrades,” the State Department spokesperson explained.
“By comparison, in the Trump Administration, authorized or ordered departure occurred 37 times,” the spokesperson added.
This story was reported in collaboration with Wisconsin Watch, a member of the Gigafact network, and was originally reported by Tom Kertscher.
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