Missing ambassadors, inexperienced appointees – is Washington dropping the diplomatic ball?

Almost half of US ambassador jobs remain vacant. Meanwhile, political appointees are outnumbering career diplomats being put forward.

By: Donald Heflin, Tufts University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: October 7, 2026

Words: 1,259

Last Updated: 1 week, 3 days ago

Body Text Preview

By Donald Heflin, Tufts University

Just before leaving town on Sept. 30, 2026, U.S. senators confirmed 10 new ambassadors. Among those nodded through before Congress closed for an extended midterm recess were new U.S. ambassadors for Kenya, Nicaragua, Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan.

That’s commendable – many of those countries hold geographical or strategic importance for U.S. diplomacy. But it still leaves 92 out of 196 ambassador jobs currently unfilled. In some of those cases, the …

Create a free account to access this story and more

Join Plucky Wire to access full stories, collaborate with newsrooms, and discover content from networks around the world.

About

FAQ

Email Us