Piece by piece, President Donald Trump is dismantling America’s representation and reputation around the world.

With about 80 U.S. ambassador posts worldwide already vacant, the Trump administration has abruptly recalled nearly 30 career ambassadors at U.S. embassies around the world. They’ve been directed to vacate their posts by Jan. 15 or 16, 2026. Most of the affected ambassadors are at diplomatic posts in Africa, but the removals are also impacting posts in Europe,

Africa was hit the hardest, with about a dozen ambassadors or chiefs of mission recalled from Niger, Uganda, Senegal, Somalia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritius, Nigeria, Gabon, Congo, Burundi, Cameroon, and Rwanda. In the Middle East, heads of mission were recalled from Egypt and Algeria. European chiefs of mission were also recalled from Slovakia, Montenegro, Armenia and North Macedonia.

A senior department official told the Journal the recall was part of a standard process to reassess ambassadors in any administration and that it’s the president’s right to ensure he has envoys in place who advance his foreign-policy agenda.

The damage done by the vacancies is compounded by the questionable quality of some of Trump’s ambassadors who are already confirmed .

For example, Herschel Walker, a former professional football player who ran unsuccessfully as the Republican party’s nominee in the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Georgia, is Trump’s s ambassador to the Bahamas. Then there’s Charles Kushner, a disbarred attorney who in 2005 was convicted of illegal campaign contributions,  tax evasion and witness tampering, and who happens to be the father of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Charles Kushner is Trump’s Ambassador to France and Monaco. And there’s Kimberly Guilfoyle, Trump’s Ambassador to Greece. She’s a former Fox News personality and Donald Trump Jr.s ex- fiancée.

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) , which represents the U.S. foreign service and career diplomats, said the recall represents “a steady erosion of norms, transparency, and professional independence in the Foreign Service.”

“Abrupt, unexplained recalls reflect the same pattern of institutional sabotage and politicization our survey data shows is already harming morale, effectiveness, and U.S. credibility abroad,” AFSA said.

The United States is going to pay a steep price for President Trump’s reckless moves undermining our country’s diplomatic authority.

Already Vacant U.S. Ambassador Posts

Post	Current Ambassador
Afghanistan	VACANT
Albania	VACANT
Angola and São Tomé & Príncipe	VACANT
APEC	VACANT
ASEAN	VACANT
Australia	VACANT
Azerbaijan	VACANT
Barbados	VACANT
Belarus	VACANT
Belize	VACANT
Bolivia	VACANT
Bosnia and Herzegovina	VACANT
Brazil	VACANT
Bulgaria	VACANT
Burma	VACANT*
Cambodia	VACANT
Central African Republic	VACANT
Chad	VACANT
Ecuador	VACANT
El Salvador	VACANT
Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)	VACANT
The Gambia	VACANT
Georgia	VACANT
Germany	VACANT
Ghana	VACANT
Guinea	VACANT
Haiti	VACANT
Honduras	VACANT
IAEA	VACANT
Iceland	VACANT
Indonesia	VACANT
Iraq	VACANT
Jamaica	VACANT
Kenya	VACANT
Kosovo	VACANT
Lesotho	VACANT
Liberia	VACANT
Libya	VACANT
Malawi	VACANT
Mauritania	VACANT
Moldova	VACANT
Mozambique	VACANT
New Zealand, Cook Islands and Niue	VACANT
Nicaragua	VACANT
Norway	VACANT
OECD	VACANT
OSCE	VACANT
Pakistan	VACANT
Paraguay	VACANT
Qatar	VACANT
Russia	VACANT
Samoa	VACANT
Saudi Arabia	VACANT
Serbia	VACANT
Seychelles	VACANT
Slovenia	VACANT
Solomon Islands	VACANT
South Korea	VACANT
Sudan	VACANT
Syria	VACANT
Tanzania	VACANT
Timor-Leste	VACANT
Togo	VACANT
Tonga	VACANT
Trinidad and Tobago	VACANT
Ukraine	VACANT
United Arab Emirates	VACANT
UN / Conf. on Disarmament	VACANT
UN / Geneva	VACANT
UN / Human Rights Council	VACANT
UN / Vienna	VACANT
UNESCO	VACANT
Venezuela	VACANT

Information taken from www.whitehouse.gov and foreign.senate.gov.