It is hard to assess how much damage is being done by America’s diplomatic vacancies
will intensify this week, when senior American and Russian officials meet: first bilaterally, then collectively with NATO and at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. For all his belief in the power of “relentless diplomacy”, however, President Joe Biden’s team is. He still has no ambassadors in important European capitals such as Berlin, London and Rome.
In Washington the State Department has no assistant secretaries for the Near East, for international security and non-proliferation, or for arms control. Nor is there a counter-terrorism co-ordinator or a legal adviser. The post of inspector-general, an important internal watchdog, has been vacant since Mr Trump fired Steve Linick in 2020.
All presidents in recent decades have struggled to fill their administrations. They bring in their train some 4,000 political appointees, of whom about 1,200 must be confirmed by the Senate. On nominations overall, Mr Biden’s is roughly keeping up with predecessors such as George W. Bush and Barack Obama, according to data from the Partnership for Public Service , a non-profit group. Yet that is a slothful pace, with only about 450 people named to the 800 most important jobs.
It is hard to assess how much damage is being done by the diplomatic vacancies. Much business is conducted directly between foreign ministers or leaders. Other officials can take up the work. But however professional, a chargé d’affaires running an embassy often lacks the clout that comes with being the president’s chosen ambassador, endorsed by the Senate.
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