Why It Matters

More than 100 U.S. ambassador posts remain vacant, including critical positions in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iraq and Kuwait, while 37 of 51 U.S. ambassadorial posts in Africa were vacant earlier this year.

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) reported that the administration's mass recall of career ambassadors would leave at least 110 ambassador vacancies worldwide. That diplomatic staffing shortage is the backdrop for "Hearings To Examine Certain Pending Nominations", scheduled before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Sept. 30. The committee is chaired by Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) serving as ranking member.

Broader Context

The Sept. 16 hearing considered five career Foreign Service officers nominated to serve as ambassadors to Malaysia, Kenya, Benin, Gabon and Togo. Shaheen noted that it was the committee's first nominations hearing consisting entirely of career diplomats since the beginning of the second Trump administration.

The Sept. 17 hearing considered Michael Young to be ambassador to Serbia, Ronald Johnson to be ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Julia Nesheiwat to be ambassador-at-large for the Arctic, Steven Gillen to be ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic and Nutan Patel to be ambassador to Cabo Verde.

The vacancy problem stems in part from the administration's December 2025 decision to recall nearly 30 career diplomats serving in ambassadorial and other senior embassy posts. The Associated Press reported that chiefs of mission in at least 29 countries were informed that their tenures would end in January. AFSA reported that the recall added to roughly 80 ambassadorial vacancies that already existed and would leave at least 110 ambassador posts vacant worldwide.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's nominations list shows numerous ambassadorial nominees moving through the committee, including nominees considered at hearings throughout September. The committee has scheduled another nominations hearing for Sept. 30 as it continues processing the administration's diplomatic nominees.

The ambassador shortage has been particularly pronounced in Africa and the Middle East. Earlier reporting found 37 of 51 U.S. ambassadorial posts in Africa vacant, while the United States has also operated without Senate-confirmed ambassadors in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq.

The Bottom Line

With more than 100 ambassadorial posts vacant worldwide, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has accelerated its consideration of diplomatic nominees, holding two nominations hearings in a single week in September before scheduling another for Sept. 30.

Posts in countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq carry particular weight given ongoing U.S. foreign policy interests in the Middle East, while widespread vacancies in Africa have raised concerns about U.S. diplomatic capacity on a continent where China and Russia are competing for influence.

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