The Trump administration has recalled more than two dozen career diplomats from ambassador positions and other senior posts around the world as it works to enforce adherence with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, current and former U.S. officials said.
The directive has infuriated State Department personnel who say it will leave key embassies without critical leadership and may effectively end the careers of many ambassadors who will have only 90 days to find new jobs in the department, a tall order during a moment of limited high-level positions.
“To remove these senior diplomats without cause or justification sends a dangerous message,” the American Foreign Service Association, the union that represents U.S. diplomats, 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.”
A senior State Department official said “This is a standard process in any administration.”
“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.
Beginning last week, a targeted group of ambassadors in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe received phone calls from Washington directing them to vacate their posts by mid-January, said officials, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel decisions. The communication offered no explanation for the recall and included at least two dozen career diplomats who had served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, these people said. All of the recalled ambassadors received their latest promotion under President Joe Biden.
Career diplomats serve at the pleasure of the president, but they are usually allowed to complete their assignments of three to four years regardless of a change in the presidency. That differs from politically appointed diplomats, such as donors or friends of presidents, who are usually recalled immediately when a new president takes power.
The Trump administration’s recall will have diplomats uprooting their lives much faster than many had expected. And when these ambassadors finish their assignments, they have 90 days to get a new position or they must retire.
In a holiday greeting sent to friends and colleagues last week by the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, MaryKay Carlson, she expressed “with a sad heart” that she “received a call today from Washington that I will need to leave in January.”
The letter, obtained by The Washington Post, made clear Carlson remained in the dark about whether her recall notice would allow for wiggle room. “I hope to stay a few weeks longer to help make the transition as smooth as possible and lessen the gap between ambassadors but am unsure if that will be possible and must begin to make departure plans.”
Carlson declined to comment for this article.
AFSA President John Dinkelman rejected the Trump administration’s claim that this is business as usual, saying “this is far from a standard process.”
“It is highly unusual to recall career ambassadors nearly a year into an administration,” he said. “These are nonpartisan professionals who serve presidents of both parties.”
The recalls were first reported by Politico. They are the latest flash point between the department’s political leadership and the thousands of career officials who are increasingly fearful for their job security since Secretary of State Marco Rubio fired more than 1,300 employeesin his downsizing plan over the summer and his earlier authorization of the dismantlement of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Trump has long criticized what he views as a “Deep State” of unelected bureaucrats that seeks to undermine his presidency and spread liberal values around the world.
His aides railed against congressionally authorized programs promoting diversity or LGBTQ+ rights, which in some cases were out-of-step with Trump’s stated views but in other cases were grossly mischaracterized, such as a nonexistent program that supposedly sent $50 million in condoms to Gaza.
Career diplomats, such as Dinkelman, insist that career Foreign Service officers have served the country admirably without political bias and maintain critical experience in foreign languages, cultures and running embassies in high-stress environments that can’t easily be replaced.
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