Concerns are growing about a short-staffed State Department dealing with a host of international crises.
As President Trump begins his first foreign trip, seven of the nine senior State Department roles under Secretary Rex Tillerson remain vacant, including his top deputy. The only two officials in senior roles were appointed by former President Obama and have been kept on.
While the Trump administration has put the blame on Senate Democrats and the slow confirmation process, others say Trump has been slow to issue nominations.
There are roughly 200 positions at the State Department that require Senate confirmation, including key ambassadorships, the vast majority of which remain unfilled more than 100 days into the new administration.
“It’s really grim,” said Julie Smith, a former deputy national security adviser to Vice President Biden. “Our allies are feeling this. They lack interlocutors to deal with.”
The United States lacks ambassadors to NATO, the European Union, France, Germany, and Russia, Smith noted. For some of these diplomatic positions, Trump has yet to officially name nominees.
“All those people need to be in positions as soon as possible,” said Smith, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
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Worries mount about vacancies in Trump's State Department https://t.co/ygpA4Zyd4g pic.twitter.com/m3IhDZ0qr7
— The Hill (@thehill) May 22, 2017
Trump is comfortable with Ivanka and Jared filling in. He’s in no hurry.
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