In a move to restore order and clarity to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed the Department of State to shut down the Office of Palestinian Affairs (OPA) and merge its operations back into the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
According to reports, this shift brings U.S. diplomacy in Israel back in line with the successful model first implemented under President Donald Trump.
Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the Department of State, confirmed the news during a congressional hearing, stating that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee would lead the process. “This decision will restore the first Trump term framework of a unified US diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital that reports to the US ambassador to Israel,” Bruce said. “Ambassador (Mike) Huckabee will take the steps necessary to implement the merger over the coming weeks.”
She emphasized that the decision is part of a larger effort to streamline operations and eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic silos. “It really is actually very similar to what’s happening here with the bureaus, with our reorganization,” Bruce explained. “It is making sure that the issues that are important are all working together right, are not segmented out so that the interests of the embassy — very, very much like the interests of our foreign aid and other actions — can work together in the Bureau as one entity.”
The Office of Palestinian Affairs, created by the Biden administration in 2022, operated independently of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem—against Israel’s wishes and in potential violation of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. That law requires a single, unified U.S. diplomatic presence in Israel’s capital.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, the OPA quickly gained a reputation for pushing anti-Israel rhetoric and policies that frustrated many Republican lawmakers. During Hamas’s brutal terror attack on Israel on October 7, the office infamously called for Israel to “refrain from retaliation”—a move that shocked allies and drew bipartisan criticism.
Multiple Republican leaders applauded Rubio’s decision. Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) praised the move as a long-overdue correction: “The Biden administration’s Office of Palestinian Affairs undermined Israel & emboldened Hamas,” she wrote on X. “Thank you, @SecRubio & @USAmbIsrael, for dissolving this entity & reaffirming the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem as the sole diplomatic mission in Jerusalem as required by law.”
The Biden administration's Office of Palestinian Affairs undermined Israel & emboldened Hamas.
Thank you, @SecRubio & @USAmbIsrael, for dissolving this entity & reaffirming the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem as the sole diplomatic mission in Jerusalem as required by law.…
— Rep. Claudia Tenney (@RepTenney) May 6, 2025
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) echoed the sentiment, stating: “The U.S.-Israeli relationship should be handled exclusively by the appointed representatives at our Embassy in Jerusalem, not by anti-Israel activists working with the terrorist-supporting Palestinian Authority.”
The U.S.-Israeli relationship should be handled exclusively by the appointed representatives at our Embassy in Jerusalem, not by anti-Israel activists working with the terrorist-supporting Palestinian Authority.
Great decision by @SecRubio. https://t.co/2spp9dLWjM
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) May 6, 2025
Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) was even more direct, writing: “The Biden State Department violated federal law to open the OPA and it only served to sabotage Israel at every turn in the wake of Hamas’s terror attacks. This is the correct move by President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and Ambassador Huckabee to support our great ally and reverse the previous administration’s undermining of Israel.”
The Biden State Deparment violated federal law to open the OPA and it only served to sabotage Israel at every turn in the wake of Hamas’s terror attacks. This is the correct move by President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and Ambassador Huckabee to support our great ally and reverse… https://t.co/SQI2MMt78f
— Senator Dave McCormick (@SenMcCormickPA) May 6, 2025
This development brings the U.S. back to the strong, pro-Israel stance it held under President Trump, who officially moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018. “Today we follow through on this recognition and open our embassy in the historic and sacred land of Jerusalem and we’re opening it many, many years ahead of schedule,” Trump said in his address at the time.
With this decisive action, Rubio and Huckabee are sending a clear message: the United States stands with Israel, and there’s no room for rogue diplomacy that undercuts our closest ally in the Middle East.