By Nicole Weatherholtz | Wednesday, 24 December 2025 12:18 PM EST
Former U.S. ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland defended President Donald Trump’s decision to recall roughly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial posts in a Wednesday morning interview.
Sondland argued the move is not only justified but necessary to ensure America’s overseas representatives execute — rather than resist — the president’s foreign policy agenda. He stated that ambassadorial posts should never be treated like protected civil-service roles.
“The ambassadorial post is one that has to be closely aligned with the president’s objectives,” Sondland said.
Sondland described ambassadors as a direct extension of the president abroad, not independent policymakers. “The president’s personal representative to any country is the ambassador,” he emphasized, noting the role is inherently political in practice regardless of whether the ambassador is a career diplomat or a political appointee.
He also criticized the broader culture within the State Department, arguing it has increasingly attempted to shape — rather than implement — foreign policy. “For some reason, this whole notion has been co-opted by the State Department that they make foreign policy,” he said.
Sondland claimed that shift creates a built-in ideological imbalance overseas, asserting that “95% of professional State Department employees are center-left.” Because of that, he argued, a president has every right to recall diplomats he believes are not aligned with his approach.
“You definitely don’t want them to quietly, subtly, or in some cases, not so subtly undermine your foreign policy,” Sondland said.
He dismissed the idea that recalling ambassadors weakens U.S. operations abroad, calling that argument “absolute hogwash.” Sondland added that embassies can function effectively even when the top job is vacant because professional staff remain in place.
“There are professionals at the embassy that can keep the trains running on time until the president replaces those ambassadors,” he said.
Sondland framed Trump’s recalls as standard presidential authority, not retaliation or chaos. “Mostly the reason the president recalls these people is he doesn’t feel that they’re personally aligned with his foreign policy,” he explained.
That expectation applies equally to either party, Sondland argued. “It’s absolutely proper for both the Republican and a Democratic president to do that,” he said.
He added that he believes the practice would continue under a future administration, noting, “I would expect, if the power changes hands … the Democrat next in the White House … will do the same thing.”
