Trump orders Obama-appointed ambassadors to leave overseas posts

US President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has issued a blanket mandate requiring ambassadors appointed by President Barack Obama to leave their overseas posts by Inauguration Day, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing several US diplomats familiar with the plan.

The mandate issued “without exceptions,” according to a State Department cable sent December 23, threatens to leave the US without Senate-confirmed envoys for months in critical nations like Germany, Canada, and Britain, The Times reported.

In the past, administrations of both parties have often granted extensions to allow a few ambassadors, particularly those with school-age children, to remain in place for weeks or months, the newspaper said.

A senior Trump transition official told The Times there was no ill will in the move, describing it as a simple matter of ensuring Obama’s overseas envoys leave the government on schedule, just as thousands of political aides at the White House and in federal agencies must do.

Trump has taken a strict stance against leaving any of Obama’s political appointees in place as he prepares to take office on January 20, aiming to break up many of his predecessor’s signature foreign and domestic policy achievements, the newspaper said.

Read More: Trump orders Obama-appointed ambassadors to leave overseas posts – Business Insider