A plan by Donald Trump to turf out dozens of ambassadors on the day he takes office risks months of uncertainty in some of the most sensitive parts of the world, according to several experts.
The president-elect's stance that all politically appointed ambassadors must, with no exceptions, be gone from Day One risks cutting off nations' direct line to the president while Congress wades through the lengthy process of approving their successors, analysts said.
All of them, without question, will have to be out by the afternoon of Jan. 20.
This will mean U.S. embassies in countries such as China, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia, and across Western Europe will be looking for a new ambassador come the end of this month.
In total, ambassadorships for some 80 countries, international agencies, and issues (the ambassador at large for global women's issues, for example) will be vacant all at once.
Any new appointments will have to be approved by Congress, a lengthy process in the easiest of times, but a potentially months-long slog when there are dozens of envoys to get through.
Reference: CNBC
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