True or False: President Trump has largely sidelined career Foreign Service officers in favor of personal friends and political loyalists for key ambassadorial roles.

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True. Trump asked over a dozen senior career diplomats—including undersecretaries and assistant secretaries—to resign in January 2025, clearing the State Department of institutional expertise. Meanwhile, 44% of his ambassadorial nominations are political appointees, versus the historical 25–35% norm. By replacing professionals with loyalists, Trump ensures embassies report to him personally, not to the career bureaucracy. The nomination of Sergio Gor—Trump's longtime personnel director and personal loyalist—to be ambassador to India in August 2025 exemplified this shift toward patronage over professional diplomacy.

True or False: President Trump has largely sidelined career Foreign Service officers in favor of personal friends and political loyalists for key ambassadorial roles.

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