As U.S. diplomats defy the president and the secretary of state to testify before impeachment investigators, they’re being hailed as heroes by colleagues who’ve long felt abused.
They’ve been derided as a “Deep State,” slurred as “Obama holdovers,” threatened with draconian budget cuts and told that President Donald Trump doesn’t even need them.
Now, America’s diplomats are taking their revenge.
In recent days, current and former Foreign Service officers have defied Trump administration orders and trudged to Capitol Hill to testify before House committees investigating whether to impeach the president. Colleagues inside the State Department and their allies in the broader foreign policy community are quietly hailing them as heroes, with special praise for those testifying despite still being on the government payroll.
In their testimonies, the diplomats have described being sidelined on Ukraine policy as Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and other Trump political appointees — apparently at the president’s direction — pursued a “shadow” foreign policy that included withholding some $400 million in military aid to Kyiv. Their boss, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has attacked the House process as “ troubling” and defended the legitimacy of Giuliani’s efforts.
Overall, the diplomats’ testimony has bolstered allegations that Trump tried to improperly pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival. But some also used the platform to air long-held grievances over Trump and his aides’ treatment of the State Department’s career staffers, several of whom were demoted or sidelined following attacks by the conservative media.
The defiance has risks: that it will deepen the rift between Trump and the State Department while fueling more global confusion over U.S. foreign policy positions. Many of Trump’s top aides view Foggy Bottom as a den of Democratic intrigue — a long- and widely held suspicion on the right with roots in the Cold War.
For now, though, it feels pretty good to hit back.
“People are fed up,” said Laura Kennedy, a former U.S. ambassador who remains in touch with officials still in the State Department. “There’s a deep well of resentment that’s just bubbled toward the top.”
There’s also anxiety.
Serving diplomats say the impeachment inquiry has become a constant source of questions from their foreign counterparts and overseas press, and that it’s a challenging issue to explain, especially given the State Department’s role.
Former officials say they’re fielding calls from still-serving diplomats worried about their futures. The possibility that the impeachment inquiry could rope in junior diplomats, or grow beyond Ukraine and Europe, isn’t far from people’s minds. A private Facebook group for Foreign Service officers considering quitting their jobs has seen a significant jump in participants.
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U.S. diplomats are defying Trump administration orders to testify before impeachment investigators — and they’re being hailed as heroes by colleagues who’ve long felt abused https://t.co/dOH0ZZ0KzX
— POLITICO (@politico) October 20, 2019
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