Trump Administration Recalls Dozens of US Ambassadors in Major Diplomatic Reshuffle
According to the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), which represents State Department employees, heads of missions - most of them career diplomats - have been informed that they must vacate their posts by mid-January.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The administration of US President Donald Trump has begun recalling dozens of ambassadors appointed during the previous Biden administration as part of a broad restructuring aimed at aligning American diplomacy with its foreign policy priorities.
According to the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), which represents State Department employees, heads of missions - most of them career diplomats - have been informed that they must vacate their posts by mid-January. Press reports indicate that ambassadors from around 30 countries will be affected, with a significant number serving in African nations.
While it is customary for incoming administrations to replace ambassadors in key strategic posts or appoint political allies and donors, AFSA said the scale and timing of the current recalls are unusual, particularly as they involve career diplomats and come before the end of their terms or the confirmation of successors.
AFSA said it had received “credible reports from our members in diplomatic posts around the world” that multiple career ambassadors appointed under the Biden administration were directed by phone call to leave their assignments by January 15 or 16, without being given a formal explanation.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the association warned that the move could harm the US's standing abroad. “Removing senior diplomats without cause undermines US credibility and sends a chilling signal to the professional Foreign Service,” AFSA said, adding that “experience and an oath to the Constitution take a backseat to political loyalty.”
A senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, defended the decision, saying that ambassadorial changes are “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, while declining to confirm which countries or diplomats were affected.
Since returning to office for a second term, President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have moved to overhaul US foreign policy, placing greater emphasis on combating illegal immigration, reducing foreign aid, and rolling back diversity-related initiatives.
As part of the broader restructuring, Rubio has overseen the dismissal of hundreds of State Department personnel, while the administration has moved to install loyalists in several key ambassadorial posts.