Ten Democratic senators on the House Foreign Affairs Committee urged President Donald Trump in a letter to reverse the decision to recall nearly 30 ambassadors, Reuters reported.
They warned that the move would create a “dangerous vacuum“ in diplomatic leadership that would allow countries such as Russia and China to expand their influence.
The senators pointed out that this would leave Washington without a high-level presence in key countries as Moscow and Beijing strengthen their positions. The congressmen noted that the sudden mass recall of senior diplomats was “unprecedented”, leaving more than 100 vacant ambassador positions in the United States – more than half of the total number – vacant.
“While more than 100 U.S. embassies without senior leaders await new appointments, China, Russia and other countries will maintain regular contacts with foreign leaders that we will effectively abandon, allowing our adversaries to expand their influence and limit, if not harm, U.S. interests,“ the Democrats said in the letter.“They stressed that the United States will be at a disadvantage due to China's growing economic influence. “These ambassadors have demonstrated for decades their commitment to strictly complying with the policies of administrations of both parties,“ the senators wrote. “We urge you to immediately reverse this decision before further damage is done to America's reputation around the world,“ they warned.
A State Department spokesman declined to comment on the contents of the letter, but accused Democrats of blocking ambassadorial appointments. “Democratic senators have taken unprecedented action to block the confirmation of President Trump's nominees, including ambassadors and other senior diplomats,“ the State Department spokesman said.