President-elect Donald Trump's transition staff is demanding politically appointed ambassadors leave their overseas posts by Inauguration Day, The New York Times reported.
According to The Times, the Dec. 23 mandate was issued "without exceptions" – and threatens to leave the United States without Senate-confirmed envoys for months in critical nations like Germany, Canada and Britain.
In the past, administrations of both parties have granted extensions on a case-by-case basis to allow a handful of ambassadors, particularly those with school-age children, to remain in place for weeks or months, The Times reported.
"When you have people out there whose only reason for being an ambassador is their political connection to the outgoing president of a different party, it's pretty logical to say they should leave," Ronald Neumann, the president of the American Academy of Diplomacy and a career Foreign Service officer, told The Times.
"But I don't recollect there was ever a guillotine in January where it was just, 'Everybody out of the pool immediately.'"
A senior Trump transition official told The Times there was no "ill will" in the order, and it is meant to make sure President Barack Obama's appointees leave the government on schedule.
According to The Times, many ambassadors are considering appealing the decision with Rex Tillerson, Trump's nominee for secretary of state.
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