Top US diplomats resign from State Department
Top US diplomats in the State Department's senior management team have resigned from their post during President Donald Trump's first week on the job
The resignations put pressure on incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
The Trump administration has accepted the resignations of a number of top State Department officials effective on Friday, officials said on Thursday.
The officials include the Undersecretary for Management Patrick Kennedy, two assistant secretaries, Joyce Barr and Michele Bond, and Gentry Smith, who directs the office of foreign missions.
This quartet were among a number of senior employees at the State Department who had submitted resignations for their current posts, which were limited-term appointments, as is standard practice during a transition.
Their departure puts more pressure on the incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is still awaiting confirmation by the Senate, to fill the crucial positions that keep the Department running smoothly.
It is not uncommon for senior officials to stay on for a while to smooth the transition to a new administration, or to be given other jobs within the foreign service. But it appears Tillerson will be assembling a new team.
In his first week in office, Trump has illustrated stark policy differences from Obama on trade and immigration. On Monday, Trump formally withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and on Wednesday he ordered construction of a wall on the border with Mexico and threatened to punish US cities shielding illegal immigrants.
