Donald Trump thinks that the State Department career employees have been part of the “Deep State” and “Obama holdovers.” In other words, he considers the State Department just part of the swamp. As he has hollowed out the department, there has been a serious backlash.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been in charge of the State Department, but he has done little to affect the increasingly declining morale. A U.S. diplomat said, according to POLITICO:
‘Imagine the uproar if any senior U.S. official, let alone the secretary of State, made a public speech and then put out the remarks via official U.S. government channels titled ‘Being a Buddhist Leader.’
One former ambassador who was still in contact with people she worked with in the State Department said:
‘People are fed up. There’s a deep well of resentment that’s just bubbled toward the top.’
Another former State Department official said:
‘Lower-level people are still terrified they’ll be wrapped up in this. They’re glad to see Masha, Mike and George wave the flag for the Foreign Service but still not convinced people won’t get screwed.’
Highly-respected Foreign Service veteran and head of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace compare Trump’s treatment of the State Department diplomats to Joseph McCarthy’s “communist-hunting:”
‘The damage from this assault — coming from within the executive branch itself, after nearly three years of unceasing diplomatic self-sabotage, and at a particularly fragile geopolitical moment — will likely prove to be even more severe to both diplomatic tradecraft and U.S. foreign policy.’
Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch testified before the House committee that in her 30-plus years of being a diplomat, she had never seen such a situation. Her recall over “false claims” left her “incredulous:”
‘[Harm will] come when those diplomats who soldier on and do their best to represent our nation face partners abroad who question whether the ambassador truly speaks for the president and can be counted upon as a reliable partner.’
Yovanovitch was followed on Capitol Hill by two other prominent career Foreign Service officers:
After she testified, Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent and senior Pompeo adviser Michael McKinley also testified. McKinley had just retired. Three more State Department officials have been called to testify: top diplomat in Kyiv Bill Taylor, Acting Assistant Secretary for European and Euraisan Affairs Philip Reeker, and Foreign Service office in Kyiv Suriya Jayanti.
A State Department official said Yovanovitch and Kent have been seen with “strong respect and sympathy:”
‘[They are seen as] career public servants who became collateral damage in political issues. [There is a] pretty long line of them in this administration.’
They see McKinley in a positive light but questioned why it took so long to resign.
Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney called those who testified:
‘…career bureaucrats who are saying, “You know what? I don’t like President Trump’s politics so I’m going to participate in this witch hunt.”‘
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State said:
‘If we all leave when it gets hard, who will be left to champion American diplomacy?’
Two Foreign Service officials announced their retirement in op-eds, dismissing Trump’s “Deep State.” Chuch Park wrote:
‘If the resistance does exist, it should be clear by this point that it has failed.’
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s employees are “furious” he did not support Yovanovitch. One said:
‘People are generally disappointed that Pompeo seems to have abdicated principled leadership in favor of political games.’
After Pompeo promoted “Being a Christian Leader” on his homepage. One overseas diplomat said:
‘Imagine the uproar if any senior U.S. official, let alone the secretary of State, made a public speech and then put out the remarks via official U.S. government channels titled “Being a Buddhist Leader.” Or “Being a Muslim Leader.” So bizarre.’
Pompeo said he would cooperate with the House impeachment investigation as “required under law:”
‘I hope they [the diplomats] go to tell the truth.’
Trump told Fox News:
‘The one that matters is me. I’m the only one that matters, because when it comes to it, that’s what the policy is going to be.’
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
