Republican donors appointed to diplomatic gigs overseas are reportedly “concerned” that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may threaten their cushy gigs before they even finish unpacking.
Embassies in the tiny European nations of Malta and Luxembourg are on DOGE’s chopping block, sources told Page Six, meaning their new MAGA ambassadors may soon find themselves “homeless.”
This is not sitting well with those set to work in the buildings, and a source cautioned Page Six that closing embassies cannot realistically be done overnight.
“It’s not like closing a Starbucks,” one source said. A political insider was adamant, however: “They’re abolishing these embassies under DOGE.”
Among those likely to be impacted is Somers Farkas, whom President Donald Trump appointed as U.S. ambassador to Malta in December.
Farkas, 56, is a well-known socialite and philanthropist who galavants around Manhattan, Palm Beach, and the Hamptons. Married to the heir of the Alexander’s department store, Jonathan Farkas, she is a high-society fixture and longtime GOP donor who gave $321,000 to support Trump and other Republicans in 2024.
Just over 50 years ago, Farkas’ mother-in-law, Ruth Farkas, donated $300,000 to President Richard Nixon, which landed the elder Farkas an ambassadorship in Luxembourg—an appointment that was scrutinized after Nixon’s lawyer admitted in a Watergate hearing that she got the gig because she cut a check.
The younger Farkas did not face much scrutiny when Trump quietly announced her appointment on Christmas Eve. Trump described the Virginia native as a “model, philanthropist, documentary producer, and very successful businesswoman” in a post on Truth Social at the time.
Sources told Page Six that Farkas intends to relocate to Malta, a Mediterranean island with a population of 552,747, and serve as its U.S. ambassador even if there is no longer an embassy or office for her to work from. She has already attended ambassador training and is “ready to go no matter what” if confirmed by the Senate.
Stacey Feinberg, whom Trump picked to be Luxembourg’s U.S. ambassador, may also end up embassy-less.
Feinberg, 55, is a fanatic MAGA poster and “advisory council member” at the right-wing Turning Point USA. She donated $110,000 to Republicans in 2024 and serves as a board member of the Women Founders Network.
The New York Times reviewed an internal State Department memo this week that said the Trump administration is considering closing 10 embassies and 17 consulates—many in Western European countries like France and Italy—to reduce overhead and save money.
Six of the reported embassy closures are in African nations not considered easy landing spots for rewarding political donors: the Central African Republic, Eritrea, the Gambia, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, and South Sudan.
Luxembourg, however, is precisely the kind of cushy gig a big donation gets you shortlisted for. It has a GDP per capita of $131,380—by far the highest ON the European continent. It also boasts a high quality of life and low crime rates. It shares borders with Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France to the south. Malta is not as wealthy, but it is often sought after by diplomats for its pleasant weather, political stability, and beautiful coastline.
Other closures listed in the memo were the embassies on the Caribbean island of Grenada and in the Maldives, an Indian Ocean archipelago. The U.S. embassy in the Maldives opened in 2023; Trump did not purge its ambassador, Hugo Yue-Ho Yon, when he returned to office. Karin Sullivan is the interim leader of the Grenada embassy, for whom Trump has yet to announce a full-time replacement.
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