The Donald Trump administration has recalled 30 United States career diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior embassy assignments abroad.
This comes as the administration moves to reshape the U.S. diplomatic posture abroad with personnel deemed fully supportive of Trump’s “America first” priorities.
The chiefs of mission in about 29 countries were informed last week that their tenures would end in January, 2026, according to two State department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel moves.
They were appointed during the Biden administration, but survived an initial purge in the early months of Trump’s second term that targeted mainly political appointees.
That changed on Wednesday when they began to receive notices from officials in Washington DC about their imminent departures, according to The Guardian UK.
The State department officials disclosed that those affected by the shakeup are not losing their foreign service jobs but will be returning to Washington for other assignments if they choose.
Africa is the continent most affected by the removals, with ambassadors from 13 countries being removed.
The affected African nations include Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, and Uganda.
Second is the Asia-Pacific region, with ambassadorial changes coming to six countries, including Fiji, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Four countries in Europe (Armenia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Slovakia) are affected; as are two each in the Middle East (Algeria and Egypt); South Asia (Nepal and Sri Lanka); and the western hemisphere (Guatemala and Suriname).