WASHINGTON — (AP) — A large number of senior career diplomats who served in politically appointed top leadership positions at the State Department have left their posts at the demand of the incoming Trump administration, which plans to install its own people in those positions, according to current and outgoing U.S. officials.
Personnel changes in the senior ranks of the department, like those at all federal agencies, are not uncommon after a presidential election, and career officials serving in those roles are required, just as non-career political appointees, to submit letters of resignation before an incoming administration takes office.
In the past, some of those resignations have not been accepted, allowing career officials to remain in their posts at least temporarily until the new president can nominate his team. That offers some degree of continuity in the day-to-day running of the bureaucracy.
Among the career officials to be reassigned are acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs John Bass, who until Trump took office was serving as the No. 3 U.S. diplomat, and all of the other under secretaries of state in charge of management and policy portfolios, as well as all assistant secretaries of state, who deal with regional issues, according to three current and former officials familiar with the personnel changes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel changes that have not been publicly announced.
Unless President Donald Trump moves quickly to nominate people for those positions, the jobs will be filled in many cases by the outgoing officials’ current subordinates, who are career diplomats often with years of experience under both Republican and Democratic administrations. And, despite the changes, the career diplomats will continue to occupy senior roles in the State Department hierarchy, although it was not immediately clear how many.
The outgoing officials were not fired, but were rather told last week, in some cases on Friday, that their pro forma resignations had been accepted. They will remain employees of the State Department as foreign service officers unless they decide to retire or otherwise leave government.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
