January 17, 2017

Trump’s Plan to Quickly Recall Ambassadors Is ‘Risky Move’: Experts

Featuring: Julianne Smith

Source: NBC

Journalist: Alexander Smith

A plan by Donald Trump to toss out dozens of ambassadors on the day he takes office risks months of uncertainty in some of the most sensitive parts of the world, according to several experts.

The president-elect's stance that all politically appointed ambassadors must, with no exceptions, be gone from Day One risks cutting off nations' direct line to the president while Congress wades through the lengthy process of approving their successors, analysts said.

This could be especially pertinent because of Trump's penchant for making candid foreign policy statements from his Twitter account; a good ambassador might be able to provide their host government with reassurances and explanation perhaps absent from the president-elect's forthright 140-character messages.

Read the full article at NBC.

Authors

  • Julianne Smith

    Former Adjunct Senior Fellow, Transatlantic Security Program

    Julianne (“Julie”) Smith is a contributing editor to Foreign Policy, where she coedits “Shadow Government.” She is also a senior advisor at WestExec Advisors, an adjunct senio...