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.
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