The Trump administration told many career foreign service officers to leave their ambassadorial posts next month, adding to a long list of vacancies in the Middle East.
Nearly 30 career foreign service officers are being told to report back to Washington as part of a continuation of major changes inside the U.S. State Department. Politico first reported on the shakeup.
Herro Mustafa Garg, the U.S. ambassador to Egypt, is reportedly on the list. She has been involved in efforts to coordinate the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Political appointees are generally asked to resign when presidential administrations change, but career diplomats serve regardless of which party holds the White House. They usually hold an overseas post for three to four years.
The American Foreign Service Association, the union for foreign service officers, said it “has received credible reports from our members in diplomatic posts across the world that multiple career ambassadors, appointed during the Biden administration, have been directed to vacate their posts by Jan. 15 or 16.”
The AFSA said that no explanation was provided.
A senior State Department official said it was “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.
There are some 80 ambassadorial posts open worldwide, including several key Middle East posts, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, due to rejections of nominees and the Trump administration’s failure to offer candidates.
Amer Ghalib, Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Kuwait, was throttled by both Republicans and Democrats in his Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing for derogatory comments about Jews and Israel. He failed to advance to a full Senate confirmation vote.
The position of assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, which is the top diplomatic position for the Middle East, also remains vacant after Joel Rayburn’s nomination was pulled in October, reportedly due to a lack of necessary Senate support for confirmation.
There is also no envoy in place at the International Atomic Energy Agency, a watchdog for Iran’s nuclear program.