Reports coming from the State Department say that more than half of the top-ranking career diplomats have left the agency. Also, the number of people seeking to join the State Department has diminished. According to recent data from the American Foreign Service Association, the applications submitted have dropped by half.
Last week, U.S. ambassador to Panama John Feely resigned his post explaining that he can no longer serve President Trump. This act apparently made a lot of individuals serving at the State Department question the integrity of the work they are doing there.
A U.S. official said that the official resignation was communicated to State Department officials on December 27 and is not related to the “shithole countries” incident the president recently made. Feeley is one of the most respected senior officers in the department, considered to be one of the best Latin America specialists.
According to The Hill, a U.S. official who works regularly with the State Department said that “Given what happened in the last few days, people are wondering how are they going to be effective in an environment like this.”
“It’s one thing for us to go in and slam our hands on the table and say this is what we want … It’s another to denigrate them and make it crystal clear this is what our leadership thinks about them in the vulgarest of terms.”
U.S. officials said dozens of email messages were flying around the State Department about Feeley’s decision to leave. They were a mix of disappointment, concern, and admiration for the ambassador who served as a mentor to many of the current diplomats specializing in the Western Hemisphere.
Other officials in the State Department have openly questioned whether they are serving their country productively with the roles they have been entrusted with.
Be the first to comment