Dozens of senior career diplomats are resigning from the State Department as Donald Trump is inaugurated on Monday after receiving requests from the president-elect's aides to do so, The Washington Post reported.
A career diplomat said the forced resignations are taking place "a little quicker" than in previous administrations but that it is common for a new administration to eventually choose new career diplomats for Senate-confirmed positions.
Some incoming presidents decide to keep a larger number of career diplomats in senior roles until political appointees receive Senate confirmation. Trump has instead authorized the selection of more than 20 "senior bureau officials" to take over divisions where leadership positions are being vacated.
Requesting the resignations is the prerogative of any incoming administration and indicates a desire to quickly shift the tone and makeup of the State Department.
The current forced departures are aimed at establishing a decisive break from the Biden administration.
Included among the exodus of long-time veterans of the Foreign Service are John Bass, the under secretary for management and acting under secretary for political affairs, and Geoff Pyatt, the assistant secretary for energy resources, according to officials.
"It is entirely appropriate for the transition to seek officials who share President Trump's vision for putting our nation and America's working men and women first," a spokesperson for the transition team said. "We have a lot of failures to fix and that requires a committed team focused on the same goals."
On Friday, the Trump team told many of the department's career officials serving as assistant secretaries and in other high-level positions that they would not be needed when he becomes president.
Trump campaigned on dismantling what he has called the "deep state" of federal bureaucrats, whom he views as lacking loyalty and undermining his agenda, according to the Post. He has also vowed to get rid of workforce protections for thousands of government employees.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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