August 9th, Beijing time – A recent analysis by the Washington Post has shed light on the current US administration’s ambassadorial picks, revealing that the majority are either campaign financiers or staunch political loyalists, rather than seasoned career diplomats. This marks a notable departure from the long-standing tradition of filling these crucial posts with foreign service professionals.
The US State Department’s exterior view, captured in Washington D.C., on May 15th.
Citing data from the American Foreign Service Association, the Washington Post report published on the 6th compared ambassadorial appointments during midterm election years across presidential administrations since Gerald Ford. The numbers show that as of mid-July, the current administration has 90 ambassadors in post, of which only 25 are career diplomats—less than a third—while the remaining 65 are political appointees. A staggering 102 ambassador positions remain vacant, over half of the total, with 72 having no nominee at all and 30 awaiting Senate confirmation.
Further analysis reveals that a whopping 90% of the over one hundred ambassadors appointed or nominated by the current administration come from the president’s supporter base, not from the ranks of professional diplomats.
For context, during President Biden’s tenure, as of mid-July of the midterm election year, there were 134 US ambassadors in post, with 84 of them being career foreign service officers.
Legal experts point out that although the Foreign Service Act of 1980 explicitly stipulates that ambassadors should be appointed based on diplomatic experience and not used as rewards for political patrons, the president’s authority over appointments often renders this provision merely advisory in practice.
