The US has left more than 40 African nations without a Senate-confirmed ambassador, hampering Washington’s efforts to engage in security and diplomatic missions across the continent.
Some 41 African countries currently lack a confirmed envoy, including Nigeria, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, and Sudan.
While there are vacancies across the diplomatic corps, the gap in Africa-specific posts is especially stark: It widened in December when the administration recalled more than a dozen career ambassadors from Africa, a move the American Foreign Service Association called “institutional sabotage.”
The vacancies come as Washington negotiates high-stakes deals — like a US-brokered DRC-Rwanda peace agreement and a Libya peace deal — often through high-profile envoys like President Donald Trump’s Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, rather than resident ambassadors.
“No matter how good [Boulos] is, he can’t be everywhere at once,” said Michelle Gavin, a former US ambassador to Botswana and Council on Foreign Relations fellow.
Gavin said the gaps add to the chaos surrounding Trump’s visa restrictions and efforts to force African nations to take third-country migrants. The dearth also risks ceding ground to China, she argued, adding the current vacancy rate has “no modern precedent.”