37 Empty Embassies: Democrats Accuse Trump of Neglecting Africa

Fifteen months into his second term, President Donald Trump has yet to appoint ambassadors to 37 of 51 U.S. missions across Africa. The gap has given Democrats ammunition to charge the administration with abandoning the continent, even as the White House points to high-level meetings and conflict mediation efforts.

The Senate has cleared the way to confirm Frank Garcia as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, advancing his nomination in a 49-candidate batch vote ahead of a final vote scheduled for Monday. Garcia, a former Navy intelligence officer who served on the House Intelligence Committee, inherits a bureau that has cycled through three acting leaders since January 2025, bleeding diplomatic expertise both in the field and in Washington.

A Hollowed-Out Diplomatic Corps

The State Department has lost over 20% of its workforce since Trump took office, on top of thousands of USAID staff fired last year. The Africa bureau has so far survived leaked proposals to abolish it entirely and close embassies across the continent, but its institutional knowledge has been severely eroded. The White House National Security Council merged its Africa desk with the Middle East office, according to a report by the French magazine Jeune Afrique.

The Africa Report revealed that 37 of 51 U.S. embassies in Africa currently lack a sitting ambassador. That count includes outgoing Zambia envoy Michael Gonzales, who delivered his farewell address on April 30 after three and a half years in post. Trump himself caused nearly two-thirds of the vacancies, having recalled 25 ambassadors without arranging replacements, and also removed the last U.S. ambassador to Mauritius as the island prepares to host the annual U.S.-Africa Business Summit from July 26 to 29.

Among the empty posts are the top U.S. representatives in Nigeria—Africa's most populous nation—Egypt, home to the continent's strongest military, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a key player in Trump's push for strategic minerals. Since taking office, Trump has nominated only four new ambassadors to Africa: for Morocco, Tunisia, Namibia, and South Africa. A fifth nominee for Tanzania has not yet been put to a vote. The remaining ten ambassadors are carryovers from the Biden administration, notably in Ethiopia—seat of the African Union—and in the Sahel states of Mali and Burkina Faso, where the Trump administration seeks to revive security cooperation.

Democrats Sound the Alarm

Senator Cory Booker, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Africa, said during Garcia's confirmation hearing that failing to prioritize relations with these nations "is a real insult to them, and this diplomatic vacuum is being filled by the Chinese." He added that the chronic staffing shortage "undermines the operations of these embassies, puts key strategic interests at risk, and threatens our national security."

Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the full committee, stated that "in every country where there is a vacant U.S. ambassador post, there is a Chinese ambassador." The only exception, she noted, is Eswatini, which recognizes Taiwan.

Republican Defense

Trump's defenders counter that he has hosted numerous African leaders at the White House, while his top Africa advisor, Massad Boulos, conducts intensive tours across the continent to mediate conflicts. Senator Ted Cruz, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Africa, said at an April 21 hearing on countering extremism in Africa that Trump "has personally met with 13 African heads of state in his first year in office. But we often see the superficial idea that the U.S. is withdrawing from Africa."

The American Foreign Service Association, the union representing U.S. diplomats, argues that the ambassador vacancies exert "real pressure" and undermine American diplomacy. The union is also alarmed by changes to the hiring process for future Foreign Service officers, which the Trump administration presents as a way to eliminate partisan bias.