WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 ambassadors and other senior career diplomats to ensure embassies reflect its ‘America First’ priorities, a move critics said can weaken US credibility abroad.

The State Department declined to provide a list of the diplomats being recalled. A senior department official said on Monday the move was “a standard process in any administration” but critics said that was not so.

“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 told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Nearly 30 senior diplomats were among those ordered back to Washington, people familiar with the matter said.

All of them had taken up their posts in the Biden administration, but had survived an initial purge

They were posted to smaller countries where the top US representative has traditionally been from the Foreign Service, which is made up of career officials not aligned with a political party.

All of them had taken up their posts in the Biden administration but had survived an initial purge in the early months of Trump’s second term that targeted mainly political appointees, the Associated Press reported. That changed last week when they began to receive notices from officials in Washington about their imminent departures.

Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the president although they typically remain at their posts for three to four years. Those affected by the shake-up are not losing their foreign service jobs but will be returning to Washington for other assignments should they wish to take them, officials said.

The American Foreign Service Association representing foreign service officers said it was working to confirm which members were recalled after some reported being notified by phone with no explanation — a process its spokesperson called “highly irregular”.

“Abrupt, unexplained recalls reflect the same pattern of institutional sabotage and politicisation our survey data shows is already harming morale, effectiveness, and US credibility abroad,” spokesperson Nikki Gamer said in an email.

The State Department declined to respond to Gamer’s comments.

Politico reported on Friday that two dozen ambassadors were being told to leave their posts, citing a State Department official.

Jeanne Shaheen, ranking Democrat on the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, assailed the Republican administration’s removal of the diplomats while about 80 ambassadorial posts remain vacant.

“President Trump is giving away US leadership to China and Russia by removing qualified career Ambassadors who serve faithfully no matter who’s in power,” Shaheen posted on X. “This makes America less safe, less strong and less prosperous.”

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2025