AFSA’s Stance on Rumored Career Chief of Mission Nominations

Dear AFSA Members,

More than a year into this administration, an unprecedented number of chief of mission (ambassador) positions remain vacant. As reports circulate that nominations may finally be forthcoming—including, potentially, a significant number of career Foreign Service members—we want to be clear about where AFSA stands.

We welcome movement on leadership posts that have sat empty for far too long. Foreign Service professionals with relevant subject matter expertise, regional experience, and language proficiency are uniquely qualified to represent the president and the American people. Any career nominees—patriotic Americans who have devoted their lives to the service of our nation—deserve to be considered fairly, judged on their records, and treated with respect.

Yet AFSA remains deeply concerned about how career candidates are being selected.

There is no more consequential leadership role in an embassy than a chief of mission. The safety of our diplomats and their families, and the success of our overseas missions, depends on that person’s experience, judgment, expertise, and readiness to lead. For decades, career candidates for ambassadorial positions have been selected through a rigorous, nonpartisan assessment after clearly demonstrating those very attributes.

That now appears to be at risk.

After more than a year of attacks on the Foreign Service and the politicization of its ranks, AFSA is concerned that the selection process has been weakened. We are troubled by reports that factors unrelated to qualifications, including perceived political loyalty and unfair suspicions about experienced officers, may now be shaping how career candidates are considered. This should concern every member of the Foreign Service. It should concern every American. Career diplomats, like all commissioned officers of the U.S. government, must never be asked to pass a political test to serve—much less to lead.

AFSA will not stigmatize or prejudge individual nominees; all nominees for these important roles should undergo a fair and serious confirmation process to determine their suitability to serve as a chief of mission. But AFSA will continue to insist that the chief of mission selection process be transparent, rigorous, merit-based, and, above all, nonpartisan. Screening out experienced officers, or elevating candidates for reasons unrelated to readiness, weakens the Foreign Service at a moment when the stakes for U.S. diplomacy have never been higher.

AFSA will continue to actively advocate this position to those in authority and defend the integrity of the Foreign Service.

Sincerely,

John Dinkelman, AFSA President

Rohit Nepal, AFSA State Vice President