Trump administration orders nearly 30 US ambassadors to return home immediately
The administration of President Donald Trump has ordered the recall of nearly 30 US ambassadors from diplomatic missions around the world. According to The New York Times, most of the diplomats received verbal notices demanding that they leave their posts by mid-January.
The ambassadors are career foreign service officers appointed by the previous administration and confirmed by the Senate. The standard term for an ambassador is three or four years, but this time the decision was made early and without a public explanation.
The American Foreign Service Association, which represents the interests of diplomats, said that there has never been a mass recall of career ambassadors in the history of the US Foreign Service. According to the association's representative, diplomats were notified suddenly, mostly by phone, without official explanation, which is considered a violation of established procedures.
The US State Department explained that the ambassador is a personal representative of the president, and the head of state has the right to form a team in accordance with his own policy. At the same time, the department did not specify why the decision affected career diplomats.
According to unofficial data, most of the recalls concern sub-Saharan Africa. Some embassies have been operating without full-fledged heads for a long time, and their functions are performed by chargés d'affaires.
The massive withdrawal could further damage the morale of the diplomatic corps, which works under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. According to an internal survey, 98 per cent of diplomats reported a drop in morale since the start of Trump's second term. Only 1 per cent of respondents noted an improvement in working conditions.
Photo: The New York Times
