Replacing personnel or dismantling diplomacy? The “America First” People Argument

A group of 10 Democratic senators called on US President Donald Trump to reverse the State Department's decision to recall nearly 30 ambassadors and senior diplomats. They warned that the move would create a vacuum that would allow Russia and China to expand their influence.

Ten Democratic representatives on the Foreign Affairs Committee, in a letter to Trump, called this move by his administration “unprecedented.” They also noted that there are currently no plans to replace the recalled diplomats with qualified candidates.

In the letter quoted by Reuters, the senators noted that the list of vacant ambassadorial positions exceeded 100.

The State Department and the White House have not yet commented on the letter.

The AP reported Sunday that the State Department was recalling nearly 30 diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior positions at embassies on several continents in a move to transform U.S. diplomacy abroad into a staff that fully supports Trump's “America First” priorities.

The ministry declined to comment on specific numbers or ambassadors, but defended the changes, calling them “standard procedure in every administration.” He noted that ambassadors are the president's personal representatives and “the president has the right to ensure that there are people in these countries who promote the 'America first' agenda.”.

According to AP sources, most diplomats were recalled from Africa – a total of 13 countries. The second continent is Asia, where the changes of ambassadors concern six countries.

The resignations also concern, among others, four countries in Europe (Armenia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovakia), two in the Middle East (Algeria and Egypt), as well as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Guatemala and Suriname. (PAP)

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