The Trump administration is ordering more than two dozen ambassadors and other senior envoys to leave their posts within weeks. Ambassadors in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe began receiving calls last week from Washington telling them to depart by mid-January, the Washington Post reports. The move has alarmed many members of the diplomatic corps; a senior State Department official defended the decision as routine. All are career diplomats, CNN notes, who have served under presidents of both parties. The idea is to install appointees loyal to the administration in high levels, per the Guardian.
The administration is working to ensure compliance with President Trump's "America First" policies, current and former officials said. The union that represents American diplomats objected. "To remove these senior diplomats without cause or justification sends a dangerous message," the American Foreign Service Association said in a statement. "It tells our public servants that loyalty to country is no longer enough—that experience and oath to the Constitution take a back seat to political loyalty." Once they've returned to Washington, the diplomats will have 90 days to secure a new role at the State Department or retire. With the State Department short on senior openings, per the Post, finding a new position so quickly would seem to be difficult.
The recalls deepen tensions between Trump's political appointees and career officials after Secretary of State Marco Rubio cut more than 1,300 jobs over the summer and authorized dismantling the US Agency for International Development. It could also leave important embassies without experienced leadership. "An ambassador is a personal representative of the president, and it is the president's right to ensure that he has individuals in these countries who advance the 'America First' agenda," a senior State Department official said.
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