BREAKING: High Ranking State Dept. Official Abruptly Announces Resignation

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If there’s one thing that can be said about the individuals comprising the Trump administration, it’s that very few of them have much, if any, relevant experience to draw from in completing the responsibilities associated with their present positions. The president, who had essentially no political experience before assuming his present position, seems at times to be grossly unaware of the way that the world works. He thinks, for instance, that it’s acceptable to refer to the leader of the heavily armed and belligerent North Korea as “Little Rocket Man.”

In that light, any officials in D.C. who could act at any point as a stabilizing force for the wild administration have been welcome, but now, one such official has announced that he is leaving his position.

The Associated Press is reporting on Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon’s decision to retire, which he insists is for personal and not political reasons.

692616938 BREAKING: High Ranking State Dept. Official Abruptly Announces Resignation Corruption Donald Trump Politics Top Stories
The Foreign Minister of Montenegro, Dr. Srdjan Damanovic (L), and US Deputy Secretary of State Tom Shannon (C), display the Instrument of Accession to NATO during a ceremony at the US State Department on June 5, 2017. Montenegro officially joined NATO as its 29th member. (Photo credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

He was the highest level official to stay on at the State Department during the transition from the Obama administration to the Trump administration, saying that he stayed on in order to lend his expertise to the transition process.

Now, however, he says that his work at the department — which has stretched over a 35 year period — is done.

Explaining the reasoning for his retirement to the AP, which was prompted in part by the death of his mother last year, Shannon commented:

‘Aside from helping the Obama administration to the finish line, I knew my job was also about helping this institution navigate the political transition, get across the river… I’ve served well across 35 years. I’ve fought the good fight. I’ve lived by my oath and I want to go out living by my oath, which is respect for the Constitution, respecting our political institutions, respecting our values and respecting the choices that the American people have made.’

Shannon will stay on, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert noted, until a successor is ready to take his place.

h-nauert BREAKING: High Ranking State Dept. Official Abruptly Announces Resignation Corruption Donald Trump Politics Top Stories

Although Shannon is departing on good terms, others — such as the U.S. Ambassador to Panama John Feeley — have not departed on similar terms.

Feeley announced his resignation in January, saying that it was out of frustration with the direction of the administration.

There has been an array of other, less high profile departures at the State Department as well, with Trump appointed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson having been reported to be pressuring senior diplomats out of their positions.

The AP grimly notes that out of “five ‘career ambassadors’ on the job when Tillerson arrived at the State Department, only one remains and that diplomat is currently on sabbatical.”

The direction of the nation’s foreign policy remains in question apart from Shannon’s departure, with concerns having long been raised about the administration taking incendiary moves like warming to Russia via ignoring sanctions.

Trump seems to be under the impression that he can simply do as he pleases without consequence on the global stage, but that’s not the way that it works. Acting like a corrupt businessman while president is not going to get the country very far at all.

Featured Image via The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images