The American Foreign Service Association posted on 26 October 2026 a one-hour podcast titled "Navigating Diplomacy in the Upside Down" with Nicholas Burns, retired Foreign Service Officer and ambassador to China during the Biden administration.
This is a discussion with Ambassador Burns on diplomacy, foreign policy, the State Department under Republican and Democratic administrations, and the future of the U.S. Foreign Service.
The Conversation published on 7 October 2026 a commentary titled "Missing Ambassadors, Inexperienced Appointees--Is Washington Dropping the Diplomatic Ball?" by Donald Heflin, The Fletcher School, Tufts University, and former ambassador.
Historically, about 30 percent of ambassadorial appointees are political and 70 percent career. In the first Trump administration and the Biden administration the percentage of political appointees increased to 40 percent. So far in the second Trump administration the percentage of political appointees has jumped to 80 percent and many of them are donors and personal friends with little overseas experience or knowledge of the country where they have been assigned.
Almost two years into the Trump administration, of the 196 U.S. ambassadorial positions, 92 remain vacant at a time when China and Russia are making an all-out effort to influence foreign governments.
Comment: I was a Foreign Service Officer for 37 years, appointed ambassador by Presidents Reagan and Clinton. It pains me to watch the decline of an organization where I spent most of my working career implementing the policies of Republican and Democratic administrations. The comments by Donald Heflin capture only some of the damage done to the Foreign Service by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration. It will take years, perhaps decades, to reverse the decline and restore the Foreign Service to the professional organization that has loyally served both Republican and Democratic administrations.
And enough of this "deep state" nonsense. Yes, government bureaucracies, including the Foreign Service, are often slow to adapt and sometimes lethargic in new policy implementation. But they are not purposely thwarting an administration's directives and once there is new political leadership at the top of an agency, they fall in line. In the rare case where someone refuses to carry out a new administration's policy, that individual is removed, pushed aside, or retires. The argument that there is some secret, hostile organization within the bureaucracy opposing any administration is just a lot of trumpery.
Small Wars Journal published on 11 August 2026 a commentary titled "The War of the Pen: What America's State Department Is Ignoring" by Julian McBride.
The author laments the absence of ambassadors at numerous US embassies, the State Department's waning soft power, the rise of middle and regional powers at the expense of the United States, and the increasing influence of China in the Global South.
He believes US diplomatic setbacks are self-inflicted but can be reversed through concerted action and the US position restored in the Global South.
