Trump appointment of junior official to oversee State Department personnel meets resistance

WASHINGTON (AP) — The appointment of a junior foreign service officer to serve as the senior official in the State Department’s personnel office is facing opposition and concern from current and former U.S. diplomats and their union.

The American Foreign Service Association, which represents U.S. diplomats, the American Academy of Diplomacy and numerous current foreign service officers expressed concern Monday about last week's appointment, which comes amid heightened anxiety over potential widespread firings of career personnel as the Trump administration slashes federal jobs.

Both organizations said the appointment of Lew Olowski, who joined the foreign service in 2021, to temporarily run the State Department’s Bureau of Global Talent is an affront to the long-held standard that the post be occupied by either a current senior or retired career diplomat. The appointment of Olowski, a lawyer, has raised eyebrows among current diplomats because of his numerous pro-Trump and anti-immigrant writings in conservative publications over the past several years that have been widely shared among internal group chats.

“Placing an untenured, entry-level officer who has only served one complete overseas tour into this critical role, even in an acting capacity, not only disregards that tradition but also sends a clear message about the value this administration places on experience and professional progression,” AFSA said in a statement. The association added that it was “deeply concerned” by the appointment.

State Department officials said last week that Olowski's appointment, while untraditional, was not a harbinger of mass layoffs in the department and that he would only be in the job for a short time until a permanent successor can be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the director general of the foreign service.

Those officials noted that there was no longer a requirement for personnel chiefs to be career employees of their agencies and stressed that Olowski is, in fact, a career officer, albeit one with only four years of experience.

That did not assuage the American Academy of Diplomacy, which is made up of many retired foreign service officers and called Olowski “unqualified.”

“Avoiding Senate confirmation by establishing the officer as a ‘senior bureau official,’ a position without legal sanction, makes a mockery of the law and generations of diplomats of the Foreign and Civil Service, who have served under difficult conditions and sometimes given their lives in the service of our nation,” the academy said.

The State Department didn’t immediately comment on the criticism of the appointment.