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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

No.

During Joe Biden’s presidency, three U.S. embassies —  in Afghanistan, Belarus and Sudan —  suspended and have not resumed operations, each following unrest in those countries.

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., recently claimed at the Wisconsin Republican convention the embassies were “lost,” though they still operate, just from different countries.

U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., cited a total of seven actions in a March letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The letter cited the three suspensions, noting the unrest in those countries. It also referenced evacuation of non-emergency personnel, family or non-essential personnel in Burma, Russia, Niger and Haiti, but those operations were not suspended.

A State Department spokesperson told Wisconsin Watch there have been a total of 29 embassy evacuations, ordered or authorized, under Biden, and there were 37 under former President Donald Trump.

An embassy is an official headquarters for U.S. diplomats and government representatives serving in a foreign country.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

U.S. Mission to Afghanistan: U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan Status

U.S. Embassy in Belarus: Visas

U.S. Embassy in Sudan: Alert

U.S. House of Representatives: Rep. James Comer letter

WisconsinEye: 2024 Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention

Google Docs: State Department email May 23, 2024

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Tom Kertscher joined Wisconsin Watch as a full-time reporter in October 2024. He started as a fact checker in January 2023 and contributes to our collaboration with the The Gigafact Project to fight misinformation online. Kertscher is a former longtime newspaper reporter, including at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He is a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.