US diplomats condemn Trump-fueled riot
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has not addressed President Trump’s role in the Capitol riot.
WASHINGTON — In a highly unusual move, American diplomats have drafted two cables condemning President Donald Trump’s incitement of the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol and calling for administration officials to support invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.
Using what is known as the State Department’s
“dissent channel,” the career foreign service officers said they fear Wednesday’s siege may undermine U.S. credibility to promote democratic values abroad.
“Failing to publicly hold the president to account would further damage our democracy and our ability to effectively accomplish our foreign policy goals abroad,” according to the second of the two cables, which were circulated among diplomats last week and then sent to State Department leadership.
The cables were an extraordinary protest against a sitting U.S. president by diplomats, whohave long complained that the administration has ignored and diminished their role and expertise. The dissent channel is normally used to oppose specific foreign policy decisions. The two most recent cables appear to be unprecedented in their scope and characterization of the president as a danger to the country.
The cables also reflect anger at the response to the riot by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a Trump ally.
Pompeo has condemned the violence at the Capitol but has not addressed the role Trump played in encouraging supporters who stormed the building. Nor has Pompeo acknowledged that U.S. diplomats overseas may face new difficulty in promoting democracy.
TheState Department did not respond to a request for comment.