America's Diplomats: Embassies, Consulates, and Who Staffs Them

When an embassy has no ambassador, a chargé d'affaires, usually the deputy chief of mission, runs it. In July 2026, 107 of 195 ambassador posts were vacant, about 55 percent, compared with about 22 percent at the same point in the first Trump term and 6 percent under Obama in 2015, according to the American Foreign Service Association. After the Senate confirmed ten ambassadors on September 30, 2026, 92 posts were still unfilled. Administration allies blamed Senate holds and slow confirmations, while critics pointed to slow nominations and the recall of career ambassadors in 2025.

The United States has no embassy in Iran, where relations broke in 1980 and Switzerland acts as the protecting power, in North Korea, where Sweden represents U.S. interests, or in Bhutan, which has no formal relations with the United States. Embassies have been suspended in countries torn by war or upheaval, including Afghanistan since 2021, Yemen since 2015, Sudan since 2023, and Belarus since 2022, with some business handled from neighboring countries. In 2026 the embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, reopened on March 30 after closing in 2019, and the department announced plans to reopen embassies in Syria and Libya.

In 2025 the State Department absorbed most of the dismantled U.S. Agency for International Development, reorganized its bureaus, and cut staff. In 2026 it considered closing as many as 30 embassies and consulates, and in August notified Congress it would close five smaller posts: the embassy in Grenada, consulates in Nagoya, Japan, and Medan, Indonesia, a presence post in Winnipeg, Canada, and a branch office in Douala, Cameroon, as well as the consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan. Supporters say the cuts trim overlapping offices and costs. Critics say they weaken American influence, especially as China expands its own diplomatic network, and reduce help for Americans abroad.

In September 2024 the State Department had about 80,200 employees: 14,400 Foreign Service members, including 8,500 generalist officers and 5,900 specialists, 12,800 civil servants mostly in Washington, and 50,700 locally employed staff, mostly citizens of host countries. The 27,200 American employees were only about 1.2 percent of the 2.3 million federal civilian workers. Embassies also house people from other agencies, including Defense, Commerce, Agriculture, Homeland Security, the FBI, the DEA, and intelligence agencies, all under the ambassador's authority. In July 2025 the department laid off about 1,350 employees as part of a reorganization.

Every ambassador is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, but they come from two pools. Career ambassadors are senior Foreign Service officers who joined by competitive exam and spent decades abroad. Political ambassadors come from outside, often campaign donors, former politicians, or allies, and are usually sent to large allied capitals in Europe and the Caribbean. From Gerald Ford through Barack Obama, political appointees averaged about 32 percent of ambassadors. The share rose to about 44 percent in Donald Trump's first term and 41 percent under Joe Biden, and about 91 percent of second-term Trump appointees were political as of mid-2026. The Foreign Service Act of 1980 says ambassadors should normally be career officers, but it is not enforced.

As of September 2024 the State Department operated 279 posts: 175 embassies, 77 consulates general, 11 consulates, 6 branch offices, and 10 other missions led by a chief of mission, including those to the United Nations in New York and Geneva, NATO, the European Union, and the Organization of American States. Embassies sit in national capitals, and consulates serve large cities and regions. Mexico, with its long border and huge flow of travelers, hosts one of the largest networks, with nine consulates, and the embassy in Baghdad is the largest U.S. embassy compound in the world. Smaller American Presence Posts and consular agencies extend service to more cities.