The Trump administration has begun removing at least two dozen career diplomats from ambassadorial and senior embassy positions worldwide. Officials describe it as routine, but it has drawn sharp criticism from former diplomats and professional organizations, according to CNN and The Associated Press (AP).
Sources told CNN that at least 24 senior career ambassadors were notified that they must vacate their overseas assignments by mid-January. AP separately reported that chiefs of mission in at least 29 countries were informed last week that their tenures would soon end.
The diplomats affected were appointed during the Biden administration but are career foreign service officers who have served under presidents of both parties.
‘Standard process’: State Department
The State Department declined to confirm the exact number of diplomats being affected or their locations but defended the action as standard practice. A senior department official described the move as “a standard process in any administration,” CNN reported.
Also Read: How long can Indian visitors stay in US? Embassy has an answer
“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,” the official said.
According to AP, those impacted are not losing their foreign service positions. Instead, they will return to Washington to seek new assignments or retire under foreign service rules if no placement is found.
Former diplomats warn
Former diplomats, however, say the scope of these removals is without precedent. Eric Rubin, a retired career diplomat and former president of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), said such widespread displacement of professional ambassadors has never occurred.
“This has never happened in the 101-year history of the US Foreign Service,” Rubin told CNN. He warned that the decision could leave more than half of US embassies without confirmed ambassadors, calling it “a serious insult to the countries affected, and a huge gift to China.”
Read More: US accuses foreign policy expert Ashley Tellis of illegally keeping secret documents
Rubin added that many of those being relieved from their posts will likely be forced into retirement, resulting in the loss of some of the State Department’s most experienced officials.
Africa, Asia among regions most affected
According to AP, Africa is the region most impacted, with ambassadors removed from 13 countries, including Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Uganda, and Rwanda.
Several posts in Asia are also affected, along with diplomatic missions in Europe, the Middle East, South and Central Asia, and the Western Hemisphere.
The ambassador removals come amid a wider restructuring of the State Department under Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Earlier this year, more than 1,300 State Department employees, including over 240 foreign service officers, lost their jobs as part of the overhaul, CNN reported.