Democrats perturbed by Trump's threat of pre-emptive North Korea strike Read moreBarbara Stephenson, a former ambassador to Panama and charge d’affaires in London, said that the top ranks of US diplomacy were being “depleted at dizzying speed”, and the state department was under “mounting threats”. She said the number of career ambassadors (professional diplomats rather than political appointees) was down 60% since January, while the number of career ministers, one rank below, has declined from 33 to 19. The administration has announced it wants to cut the state department and international aid budget by nearly a third. “You can just put another acting in place when the clock runs out, even if it’s not the ideal solution,” a state department official said. A state department spokesman disputed some figures put forward by AFSA and questioned the significance of others.

Source: The Guardian November 08, 2017 21:01 UTC