WASHINGTON, D.C. — In February 2025, the Trump administration withdrew the ambassadorial nominations of dozens of senior career foreign service officers, including Kelly Adams-Smith, who had been nominated to serve as ambassador to Moldova in 2024. The move contributed to a broader departure of experienced diplomats, with the American Foreign Service Association reporting that approximately 2,000 U.S. diplomats left the Foreign Service over the past year through layoffs or forced retirements.
Adams-Smith, who served 28 years in the Foreign Service, said, "I came in with my husband. We were a tandem couple. We met in graduate school, took the exams together, entered together and served together for 28 years." She added, "My job, and the people who left with me, they had more runway. They had expected to serve in those mentoring and leadership roles, and so it was devastating."
More than half of U.S. ambassadorships worldwide are now vacant, including posts in Ukraine, Moldova, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—where an Ebola outbreak is worsening. Senior-level foreign service officers have been largely absent from high-level U.S. negotiations in Russia and the Middle East. Julie Davis, who has concurrently led the U.S. embassy in Kyiv while serving as ambassador to Cyprus, is stepping down next month to retire.
Elizabeth Horst, a former diplomat who served across Republican and Democratic administrations, warned of operational consequences. "So when there’s a crisis, we just don’t have the infrastructure we used to have to make sure that Americans overseas stay safe, and that frankly, our business interests are protected," she said. Horst added, "It’s that day-to-day commerce that lots of American jobs rely on, and people don’t feel that immediately, but it is going to have a long-term impact."
Under the Foreign Service Act of 1980, recalled ambassadors have 90 days to secure another assignment or must retire. The State Department acknowledged an increase in Foreign Service retirements.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the department "relies on professionalism, experience, and service of both Foreign Service Officers and Civil Service employees to advance American interests around the world." He added, "Career personnel serve administrations of both parties and implement the foreign policy of the elected government. The department remains confident in the strength, capability, and professionalism of its workforce to carry out its mission at home and abroad."