The Trump administration has failed to confirm ambassadors to more than 100 nations, more than doubling the vacancy rate from the same period in the president’s first term. As of mid-May, 109 out of 195 ambassador posts were empty, according to the American Foreign Service Association, including strategically important nations such as Ukraine, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. During President Trump’s first term, only 45 ambassador posts were vacant, a Wall Street Journal analysis found.
Diplomatic Gaps Amid Global Crises
The unfilled positions come at a time of global uncertainty, as the US wages a war with Iran, the Ukraine conflict threatens to spill over into NATO countries in Europe, and President Trump pursues a maximalist foreign policy from the Caribbean to Greenland. Observers say the gaps in the American diplomatic corps have left the country less informed and less able to respond to ongoing crises. Barbara Leaf, a retired diplomat who served high-level positions in the Middle East during the first Trump and Biden administrations, told Reuters: “Those missions should all have ambassadors when you’re fighting a war. At a moment of crisis – and it’s an open-ended crisis – this administration has left these missions in a parlous state.”
State Department Response
The White House deferred questions to the State Department. A State Department spokesperson said: “The President has the right to determine who represents the American people and interests around the world, and we eagerly await the Senate’s confirmation of many of these representatives. The Department has confidence in our ability to communicate with our counterparts around the world and advance the national interest. In those embassies without a Senate-approved ambassador, experienced chargé d'affaires lead the missions.”
Communication Challenges
Government employees and high-level foreign diplomats told Reuters that the vacancies have made it difficult to communicate effectively in moments of crisis, such as when Trump threatened last month to destroy Iranian civilization, setting off fears the US was preparing to use a nuclear weapon. Diplomats said they were unable to get a clear response from the State Department about what the president’s threat really entailed.
Staffing Cuts and Appointments
Last year, about 3,000 employees left the State Department, and the Trump administration recalled 30 Biden-appointed ambassadors. The downsizing was part of larger cuts to the US foreign policy apparatus, which also included shrinking the National Security Council and halting billions of dollars in foreign aid. In place of full, Senate-confirmed ambassadors, the US has relied on lower-level chargé d'affaires officials at embassies, as well as diplomats whose missions straddle multiple countries, such as Tom Barrack, who acts as envoy for Syria and ambassador to Turkey.
Personal Associates in Key Roles
The president has leaned on personal associates for high-level tasks. Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, a co-founder of the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial crypto business, both serve as special envoys leading the Iran and Ukraine war negotiations. Critics have accused the president of appointing unqualified partisan allies to high-level posts. The administration appointed former football star and Trump ally Herschel Walker to be ambassador to the Bahamas, after his Senate campaign in Georgia floundered amid personal scandals. The White House has also nominated election denier and failed Senate candidate Kari Lake of Arizona to be ambassador to Jamaica.
Diplomatic Promises Unfulfilled
The president, who frequently boasts about his diplomatic prowess and has angled for a Nobel Prize, has nonetheless been unable to quickly end the Iran or Ukraine wars, despite promises to do both. The vacancies and reliance on unconfirmed envoys have raised concerns about US effectiveness in navigating complex international conflicts.
