[Text/Observer Network Zhang Jingjuan] U.S. President Trump once promised to reform U.S. diplomacy, but in the eighth month after the opening of his second term, more than half of the positions of U.S. ambassadors were vacant, thousands of diplomats were laid off, and dissent was suppressed. Suppressed, "loyalty" became the assessment standard.
U.S. political news network “Politico” on Monday that insiders warned that the so-called “reform” is not to restructure diplomacy, but to undermine diplomacy and even weaken U.S. global influence.
Politico interviewed 12 State Department officials, former diplomats and other people familiar with the matter, almost all of whom requested anonymity, who were worried that they would be fired for speaking in public. Many diplomats said that in the face of new changes, they felt powerless and could only accept the reality.
“In Trump’s first administration, people would say, ‘It’s not right, we need to tell the White House,’ and this is not the case at all, so why should I do it?
Responding officials and diplomats said the Trump administration was reshaping diplomatic services into a smaller, weaker force in international relations, and diplomats were reduced to policymakers rather than creators of policy ideas. While U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said it planned to give the State Department a more core role in foreign policy making, the reality was the opposite.
Deputy State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott defended Rubio, saying it "reorganized the entire State Department to ensure that the frontline sector can influence policy," but he added, "We will not tolerate anyone using the position to undermine the president's goals."
The State Department is still operating, but with new priorities, including a stricter approach to immigration, reduced emphasis on human rights, humanitarian aid and promoting democracy, and more publicity for U.S.. Many diplomats are concerned that these strategies are alienating U.S. allies. In addition, many agencies abroad generally embrace a sense of fear, which is largely the willingness to communicate with diplomats and express objections.
Ronald Neumann, the former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, said that "loyalty to decision-making has always been a basic requirement of the U.S. foreign service, but if internal honest expression is suppressed, the government will blindly fall into avoidable dangers".
The American Association of Diplomatic Services (AFSA) outlined these concerns in a notice to members in August, saying that some diplomatic officials were cut-off tasks after providing leaders with less positive analysis or unpopular suggestions. AFSA also urged members to purchase occupational liability insurance and “beware of interpersonal interactions, especially with new friends, that may be recorded and shared.”
Diplomats have revealed that due to rumors that the State Council may install keyboard spy software to monitor the electronic communications of embassy employees, a senior embassy has asked ordinary employees to face-to-face discussions about anything slightly sensitive.
While the U.S. State Department has long had a “canal of objection” that allows diplomats to submit confidential memo to the Secretary of State to express their different views on policy decisions, several diplomats said that even if the law should protect users from retaliation, they would not feel safe when used.
In addition, rubio regarded "loyalty" as an important factor in the promotion of diplomats, a decision that caused widespread dissatisfaction. Many diplomats privately deride the concept of "loyalty" as a loyalty test designed to intimidate them, thereby stifling creativity and leading to poor policymaking.
"Transparency has dropped dramatically," said a State Department official. American diplomats, who are often surprised by government decisions, are asked to implement policies, despite their doubts about details, logistics and legality. In addition, they are also worried about the influence of outsiders on Rubio, such as American far-right influencer Laura Loomer, who seems to have successfully pushed Rubio to suspend visas to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and demanded the dismissal of some Muslim diplomats.
The report pointed out that rubio, who is also a national security adviser, has also greatly simplified the policy-making process. Now, the White House small circle mainly communicates directly with the president, and then orders various departments to implement it.
Trump and his senior assistants have been skeptical of the State Department for a long time, and at the beginning of his second term, Trump issued an executive order to rebuild the diplomatic service to make it more in line with the "America's priority" concept.
To implement the order, rubio and his deputy took a series of measures, from redesigning the entry examination for the diplomatic service to laying off thousands of employees, especially those engaged in human rights and * promotion. Many offices have been abolished or downsized. At present, there are still no permanent candidates for many senior positions in the State Council. Many officials also said that some junior diplomats who were regarded as "loyal" were promoted by leapfrog, causing dissatisfaction among senior diplomats.
As these changes occurred, people were increasingly concerned about the unusually large number of ambassador vacancies. According to the American Association of Diplomatic Services, there were 110 vacancies out of 195 ambassador positions. Partly due to delays in the Senate's confirmation process, but according to AFSA's data, the government also failed to nominate candidates for more than 60 positions.
Typically, diplomatic personnel rotate their positions and duty stations every few years. Today, they are worried that their field of expertise may not be a priority for the Trump administration, and even that some consulates and embassies may be closed, eventually ending up in the same fate as those who were laid off earlier this year.
Some say that the place they don’t want to go the most is Washington, where there’s been the most concentration of job cuts to date.