The Trump administration has recalled dozens of US ambassadors from posts across the world, removing 48 envoys stationed in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central and South America.
The move follows an earlier wave of dismissals targeting ambassadors appointed under former President Joe Biden during the early months of President Trump’s second term.
A senior State Department official described the action as routine. “This is a standard process in any administration,” the official said on Monday, December 22. “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 recalls, first reported by Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin, leave the United States without ambassadors in several strategic and conflict-prone regions. Affected countries include the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, and South Sudan in Africa; Armenia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, and Slovakia in Europe; and Yemen in the Middle East.
Despite the sweeping removals, the administration has yet to nominate permanent ambassadors to several key allies and partners, including Australia, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea, raising concerns about gaps in US diplomatic representation at a critical time.
