“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 Trump administration is recalling dozens of ambassadors from their posts in African, Asian, Eastern European, and Central American countries. This comes after Trump initially mass-dismissed appointees from former President Joe Biden when he first returned to office.
Per the Associated Press, the list of countries includes: Algeria, Armenia, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Fiji, Gabon, Guatemala, Ivory Coast, Laos, Mauritius, Montenegro, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
A senior State Department official told the outlet, "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."
John Dinkelman, president of the union representing diplomats, said that the group had been getting reports from ambassadors around the world who said that they had been told over the phone that they needed to be out by January 15 or 16. The diplomats are reportedly ones who had been appointed by Biden.
Permanent ambassadors have yet to be nominated for key allies and partners such as Australia, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Ukraine. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen told Politico, who first reported the recall news on Friday, "We have about 80 vacant ambassadorships. Yet, President Trump is giving away U.S. leadership to China and Russia by removing qualified career ambassadors who serve faithfully no matter who’s in power."
Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin first reported a list of 48 countries from which US ambassadors were being recalled on Monday morning, however, he deleted his post "because I was told by State Department officials that was not accurate."
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