WASHINGTON — The top career U.S. diplomat announced Thursday he will stepdown, dealing a blow to the State Department as the Trump administrationconfronts numerous international challenges.
The State Department’s third-ranking official, Undersecretary of State forPolitical Affairs Tom Shannon, informed agency staffers that he will retireas soon as a successor for his Senate-confirmed post is chosen and ready toassume the job. Shannon is a near 35-year veteran of the U.S. ForeignService and was the most senior department official to remain in his jobafter the transition from the Obama to the Trump administrations. He servedunder six presidents of both political parties since 1984 and was widelyseen as a symbol of diplomatic continuity and professionalism during thetumultuous transition last year.
In an interview, Shannon, who holds the rank of “career ambassador” — thehighest in the foreign service — said he was retiring for personal and notpolitical reasons. “I decided it was an important moment to take a stepback and to determine what next I can do in my life,” Shannon said. He saidthe death of his mother late last year and his own 60th birthday last weekcontributed to his decision. But he also said he considered himself the“designated survivor” when former President Barack Obama tapped him for theundersecretary post in February 2016.
“Aside from helping the Obama administration to the finish line, I knew myjob was also about helping this institution navigate the politicaltransition, get across the river,” he said. “And, once across that river,help this institution — the foreign service and civil service — beresponsive to our elected leadership.”
“I’ve served well across 35 years,” Shannon continued. “I’ve fought thegood fight. I’ve lived by my oath and I want to go out living by my oath,which is respect for the Constitution, respecting our politicalinstitutions, respecting our values and respecting the choices that theAmerican people have made.”
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has been criticized for hisleadership of the State Department and removing or forcing out seniorcareer officials, said he had asked Shannon to stay on and acknowledgedthat Shannon’s departure would be a loss. “Thirty-five years of experienceis not something you replace overnight,” he said.
Tillerson dropped by during the interview and said Shannon could return ifhe did not enjoy retirement.
“There will always be a place for Tom Shannon at the State Department,”Tillerson said, adding he would miss Shannon’s “encyclopedic” knowledge ofthe State Department and U.S. diplomatic history. “He is the seniorstatesman.”
Tillerson’s praise aside, Shannon’s departure is sure to be seized on bycritics of the administration who accuse Trump and Tillerson of gutting theforeign service, particularly its senior ranks. Of five “careerambassadors” on the job when Tillerson arrived at the State Department,only one remains and that diplomat is currently on sabbatical.
Shannon, who has extensive diplomatic experience in Africa and LatinAmerica and led U.S. delegations to Russia last year, said he hadconfidence in younger foreign service officers to carry on despite today’s“hyper-politcized” American politics.
“It would be my hope that, independent of the political forces that swirlin this town, that especially my foreign service colleagues, both presentand past, will recognize the importance of honoring the profession and ourethos of service.”
Shannon said he had “supreme confidence” in the younger generation offoreign service officers, 60 percent of whom have been diplomats for lessthan 10 years. – Agencies