The US administration is recalling 29 heads of diplomatic missions to other countries, the Associated Press reports, citing two US State Department officials.
According to them, the heads of diplomatic missions were notified last week that their terms would expire in January 2026.
All of them took up their posts in the administration of former US President Joe Biden. Those affected by the reassignment will not lose their diplomatic positions but will return to Washington for other assignments if they wish, the officials said.
The State Department declined to disclose the exact number of ambassadors but defended the changes, calling them “standard process in any administration“.
The department noted that the ambassador is “a personal representative of the president and the president has the authority to ensure that there are people in these countries who are pushing the “America First“ agenda.
According to the agency, the largest number of ambassadors were recalled from Africa: 13 countries: Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia and Uganda.
Asia is in second place, with ambassadors replaced in six countries: Fiji, Laos, the Marshall Islands islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The changes also affected four other countries in Europe - Armenia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovakia; two countries in the Middle East - Algeria and Egypt; South and Central Asia - Nepal and Sri Lanka; and the Western Hemisphere - Guatemala and Suriname.
In late February, Politico reported on the US presidential administration's plans for a radical reform of the State Department, reducing the diplomatic corps, embassies and the agency's powers. The plan includes cutting consulates in Germany, France, Italy and Brazil.
In mid-July, the US State Department informed its employees of its intention to cut hundreds of them "in the coming days", the FT reported. These actions became possible after the Supreme Court decision cleared the way for the Trump administration to begin massive cuts to federal agencies, the publication notes.
In early 2025, the department notified Congress that the cuts would affect approximately 1,800 people, in addition to nearly a thousand others who decided to leave voluntarily, the FT reported.