Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered the removal of dozens of Biden ambassadors from their posts abroad.
The move is part of the Trump administration’s continued reshaping of the State Department to align with America First priorities.
The ambassadors were appointed to positions around the world by former President Joe Biden and are all career diplomats who have served for years in the foreign service.
Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the president, but their tenures in each diplomatic mission usually last three or four years. Political appointee ambassadors typically leave their roles at a change of administration.
The diplomats have received notice that they must leave their roles by January 15 or 16, according to sources. Most of the impacted ambassadors are serving at United States diplomatic posts in Africa, but the removals also affect posts in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Western Hemisphere.
A senior State Department official described the recall of the ambassadors as 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.
The move to recall the senior diplomats is the latest by the Trump administration to reshape the State Department and strongly align it with its America First priorities.
More than 1,300 officials who worked at the State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., including more than 240 foreign service officers, were removed as part of a dramatic overhaul of the agency earlier this year to combat what Donald Trump has called the “Deep State.”
United States Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson was one of those affected. She told friends and family in a letter that while she hoped to gain a few extra weeks to make the transition as smooth as possible and lessen the gap between ambassadors, she was making plans to leave by the mid-January deadline.
At a press conference last week, Rubio the Trump administration’s move.
“Foreign Service officers are more empowered at the regional bureau than they have ever been,” Rubio said.
“We are changing this place so that it is our missions in the field that are not just driving directives from the top down but also ideas from the bottom up. And I’m very proud of that, and I think that’s going to lead and pay huge dividends for future secretaries of State long after I’m gone,” Rubio said.