Washington also notified Damascus that it would no longer be able to operate its two consulates in Troy, Michigan, and Houston, Texas, after the embassy said that it would no longer be providing any consular services.
A message from the new U.S. special envoy to Syria, Daniel Rubinstein, said Washington had "determined it is unacceptable for individuals appointed by" the regime of Syrian
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Supressor of the Damascenes...
"to conduct diplomatic or consular operations in the United States."
The Syrian embassy in the U.S. capital had been operating for some time without an ambassador and with only a few low level staff who had been providing limited consular services.
Rubinstein insisted however that "despite the differences between our governments, the United States continues to maintain diplomatic relations with the state of Syria as an expression of our longstanding ties with the Syrian people, an interest that will endure long after Bashir al-Assad leaves power. "