The Trump administration is recalling about 30 ambassadors from around the world to align U.S. representation with President Donald Trump’s America First agenda, Fox News learned on Monday.
The recalled diplomats are not being fired, a senior administration official confirmed to Fox News, but rather will be reassigned elsewhere at the State Department.
‘This is a standard process in any administration,’ a senior State Department official told Fox News in a statement. ‘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.’
‘We encourage returning ambassadors to continue serving their country by finding new opportunities within the Department to advance President Trump’s America First agenda,’ the statement continued.
An official told Fox News that none of those diplomats who are being recalled to Washington are being punished or otherwise retaliated against personally and that they are all welcome to apply for other assignments within the State Department.
Throughout this process, every effort was made to ‘prioritize continuity,’ with the president making decisions with an eye toward keeping continuity of operations intact and not derailing U.S. interests, according to a senior official.
This means ambassadors will not be recalled from a country at war, or a country in the middle of high-stakes negotiations with the U.S.
While it is normal for a president to recall ambassadors for various reasons, a recall in numbers as large as this does not usually happen at one time.
An official told Fox News that the recall is happening in a large number to expedite realignment.