U.S. Department of State / Flickr
The US State Department has quietly launched an official presence on Substack, the popular email newsletter platform typically favored by journalists, thinkers, and niche communities.
On Substack, the department aims to provide unfiltered updates, longform commentary, and behind-the-scenes insight into American foreign policy and diplomatic initiatives.
“Welcome to the official Substack account of the U.S. Department of State!” reads a May 29 post on the new site. “We’ve been on Substack for a little over a month now sharing with you insights, updates, and deep dives into the Trump Administration’s foreign policy from various department officials. We look forward to sharing more exclusive articles with you and conversations on American diplomacy and foreign policy.”
The newsletter marks a significant departure from traditional government communication tools. With its emphasis on direct messaging and long-form essays, the Substack format allows the department to share unfiltered commentary and updates on diplomacy and foreign affairs.
So far, the named authors contributing to the newsletter include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, and Samuel Samson, senior advisor for the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
Rubio published an article April 30 titled “100 Days of an America First State Department,” outlining the department’s achievements and strategic direction under the Trump administration.
The department’s most recent post, published May 27, is titled “The Need for Civilizational Allies in Europe,” authored by Samson. In the essay, he warned against rising trends in Europe such as digital censorship, religious suppression, and politicized law enforcement, arguing that these threaten both democracy and the spiritual ties between the US and Europe.
In a May 28 X post, Landau praised Samson’s article as “an important and timely essay,” which highlighted the department’s “concerns about European elites’ alarming drift away from our common civilizational values and heritage.”
“Our concerns are not partisan but principled,” Samson wrote in the article. “The suppression of speech, facilitation of mass migration, targeting of religious expression, and undermining of electoral choice threatens the very foundation of the transatlantic partnership.”
Explore the newsletter at statedept.substack.com.
