The Trump administration is set to withdraw nearly 30 career diplomats from their ambassadorial and senior embassy roles across the globe.
On Wednesday, diplomats in 29 nations received notifications indicating that their positions would be terminated by mid-January, according to two officials from the State Department.
These diplomats, initially appointed during the Biden administration, managed to retain their roles during the first year of Trump’s second term, even after an initial round of dismissals primarily targeting political appointees.
The recall notice did not provide any reasons, but Trump administration representatives stated that new appointees would be selected to align closely with Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda.
A high-ranking State Department official described the move as a ‘standard process in any administration’ but acknowledged President Trump’s desire to staff positions with individuals who support his policy objectives.
“An ambassador is a personal representative of the president, and it is within the president’s prerogative to ensure that individuals abroad are advancing the ‘America First’ agenda,” commented a senior State Department official.
The recalled diplomats were encouraged to find new roles in the State Department, a second US official said.
The Trump administration’s directive now leaves the United States without leadership in critical countries including in Rwanda, Egypt and Armenia – all countries where Washington is trying to sustain peace efforts that the president has championed.
It is the latest in the Trump administration’s efforts to concentrate high-stakes diplomacy in the hands of a small group of special envoys comprising longtime friends like son-in-law Jared Kushner and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who are now working on Russia-Ukraine peace talks and post-war plans for Gaza.
President Donald Trump has recalled nearly 30 career ambassadors that have served under both Republican and Democratic presidents
But removing those with experience in the countries they serve could now have dire consequences, critics warned.
They called the abrupt removal of ambassadors at posts across the world ‘highly irregular,’ detailing how the targeted group of ambassadors in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe started receiving phone calls last week informing them that they needed to immediately vacate their positions.
US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson, for example, expressed ‘with a sad heart’ that she had received a phone call from DC saying ‘that I will need to leave in January’ in a holiday greeting sent to friends and colleagues last week, according to the Washington Post.
The letter made clear that Carlson remained in the dark about whether her recall notice would allow her time to adjust.
‘I hope to stay a few weeks longer to help make the transition as smooth as possible and must begin to make departure plans,’ she wrote.
The American Foreign Service Association representing foreign service officers said it was working to confirm which members were recalled after some reported being notified by phone with no explanation – a process its spokesperson called ‘highly irregular.’
‘Abrupt, unexplained recalls reflect the same pattern of institutional sabotage and politicization our survey data shows is already harming morale, effectiveness, and U.S. credibility abroad,’ spokesperson Nikki Gamer said in an email.
The State Department declined to respond to Gamer’s comments.
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Among those who were suddenly ousted were US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson (left) and US Ambassador to Egypt Herro Mustafa Garg (right)
The Trump administration has been concentrating diplomacy in the hands of a small group of special envoys comprising longtime friends like son-in-law Jared Kushner and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (pictured), who are now working on Russia-Ukraine peace talks and post-war plans for Gaza
Ambassadors typically remain at their posts for three to four years, with experienced Foreign Service diplomats deployed to unstable regions.
Those that are now affected by the shake-up are not losing their foreign service jobs but will be returning to Washington for other assignments should they wish to take them, the officials said.
But appointing a new ambassador requires a presidential nomination and Senate confirmation, which could take months.
And with diplomacy in many countries run through strict protocols, not having an ambassador in place could make it more difficult for senior US officials to set up meetings with their foreign counterparts or sensitive messages from Washington.
‘I’m very concerned about the safety and well-being of our diplomatic personnel overseas without having seasoned leadership in the field,’ David Schenker, former assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs in the first Trump administration, told the Wall Street Journal.
The majority of the ambassadors removed from their position worked in 13 countries in Africa: Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia and Uganda.
Ambassadorial changes are also coming to six countries in Asia: Fiji, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Four countries in Europe (Armenia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovakia) are affected; as are two each in the Middle East (Algeria and Egypt); South and Central Asia (Nepal and Sri Lanka); and the Western Hemisphere (Guatemala and Suriname).
Former State Department officials condemned the move
Congressman Bill Keating, a Democrat from Massachusetts, urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio ‘to reverse course’
As the ambassadors for these posts now return home, the Trump administration is also working to nominate permanent ambassadors to key allies like Australia, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Ukraine.
As a result, the US is now facing a situation where more than half of US embassies abroad will not have a confirmed ambassador, Eric Rubin, a retired career diplomat and the former president of the American Foreign Service Association, which represents US diplomats, told CNN.
He called it a ‘serious insult to the countries affected and a huge gift to China.’
His remarks were echoed by Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
‘President Trump is giving away U.S. leadership to China and Russia by removing qualified career Ambassadors who serve faithfully no matter who’s in power,’ she told Politico.
‘This makes America less safe, less strong and less prosperous.
Congressman Bill Keating, a Democrat from Massachusetts, also wrote that: ‘Recalling career ambassadors is a reckless move that harms America’s credibility and does nothing to protect the interests of Americans.
‘This administration should be expanding international engagement, not politicizing the Foreign Service,’ he said, urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio ‘to reverse course.’
Rubio has defended the Trump administration’s efforts to shake up the State Department
Meanwhile, the American Foreign Service Association said that removing ‘these senior diplomats without cause or justification sends a dangerous message.
‘It tells our allies that America’s commitments may shift with the political winds. And yet again, 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.’
‘This is not how America leads.’
The group previously released a damning poll showing that 86 percent of Foreign Service members found that Trump’s sweeping changes to the State Department has affected their ability to carry out US foreign policy priorities.
The report also showed that a whopping 98 percent of the Foreign Service members said that morale has declined since Trump took office last year, and one-third of employees were considering leaving the Foreign Service early.
But Rubio downplayed the findings at a news conference last week.
‘Foreign Service officers are more empowered at the regional bureau than they have ever been,’ he declared.
‘We are changing this place so that it is our missions in the field that are not just driving directives from the top down but also ideas from the bottom up.
‘And I’m very proud of that, and I think that’s going to lead and pay huge dividends for future secretaries of state long after I’m gone.’
