WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) – The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 ambassadors and other senior career diplomats to ensure embassies reflect its “America First” priorities, a move critics said would weaken U.S. credibility abroad.

The State Department declined to provide a list of the diplomats being recalled. A senior department official said on Monday the move was “a standard process in any administration” but critics said that was not so.

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“An ambassador is a personal representative of the president, and it is the president’s right to ensure that he has individuals in these countries who advance the America First agenda,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Nearly 30 senior diplomats were among those ordered back to Washington, people familiar with the matter said.

They were posted to smaller countries where the top U.S. representative has traditionally been from the Foreign Service, which is made up of career officials not aligned with a political party, the people said.

The recalled diplomats were encouraged to find new roles in the State Department, a second U.S. official said.

The American Foreign Service Association representing foreign service officers said it was working to confirm which members were recalled after some reported being notified by phone with no explanation – a process its spokesperson called “highly irregular.”

“Abrupt, unexplained recalls reflect the same pattern of institutional sabotage and politicization our survey data shows is already harming morale, effectiveness, and U.S. credibility abroad,” spokesperson Nikki Gamer said in an email.

The State Department declined to respond to Gamer’s comments.

Politico reported on Friday that two dozen ambassadors were being told to leave their posts, citing a State Department official.

Trump has sought to place loyalists in senior roles since starting his second term after encountering resistance during his first term advancing his foreign policy priorities within the U.S. national security establishment.

Jeanne Shaheen, ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, assailed the Republican administration’s removal of the diplomats while about 80 ambassadorial posts remain vacant.

“President Trump is giving away U.S. leadership to China and Russia by removing qualified career Ambassadors who serve faithfully no matter who’s in power,” Shaheen posted on X. “This makes America less safe, less strong and less prosperous.”

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China has reportedly loaded more than 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles into three newly constructed silo fields near its border with Mongolia and shows little interest in arms control talks, according to a draft Pentagon report seen by Reuters.

The assessment underscores Beijing’s accelerating military buildup, with the report saying China is expanding and modernizing its nuclear forces faster than any other nuclear-armed power. Chinese officials have repeatedly dismissed such findings as attempts to “smear and defame China and deliberately mislead the international community.”

The Pentagon declined to comment when contacted by Fox News Digital about the Reuters report.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump said he may pursue denuclearization discussions with China and Russia. The Pentagon report, however, concluded that Beijing does not appear inclined to engage.

“We continue to see no appetite from Beijing for pursuing such measures or more comprehensive arms control discussions,” the report said.

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According to the assessment, China has likely loaded more than 100 solid-fueled DF-31 intercontinental ballistic missiles into silo fields near the Mongolian border. While the Pentagon had previously disclosed the existence of the silo fields, it had not publicly estimated how many missiles had been placed inside them.

China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The report did not identify potential targets for the newly loaded missiles and could change before it is formally submitted to Congress, U.S. officials said.

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China’s nuclear warhead stockpile remained in the low 600s in 2024, reflecting what the report described as a slower production rate compared to previous years. Still, Beijing is on track to exceed 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.

China says it adheres to a nuclear strategy of self-defense and maintains a no-first-use policy. But analysts say Beijing’s public messaging increasingly contradicts that restraint.

“For a country that still advocates a policy of ‘no-first use,’ China has become increasingly comfortable showcasing its nuclear arsenal, including parading its nuclear triad together for the first time in September,” said Jack Burnham, a senior research analyst in the China Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

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Burnham said Beijing’s rejection of arms control talks reflects the pace of its weapons construction. “China has no interest in locking in a long-term strategic disadvantage, and every intention of building an arsenal on par with its perceived place in the world, alongside and potentially eventually ahead of the United States,” he said.

The report also warned that China expects to be able to fight and win a war over Taiwan by the end of 2027. Beijing claims the self-governed island as its own territory and has never ruled out the use of force.

China is refining options to seize Taiwan by “brute force,” including long-range strikes up to 2,000 nautical miles from the mainland that could disrupt U.S. military operations in the Asia-Pacific, the report said.

The findings come as the 2010 New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, approaches expiration. The treaty limits both sides to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads.

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“What is surprising is that China has now loaded only about 100 of the silos it has built recently,” said Gordon Chang. “That’s an indication money is tight in the People’s Liberation Army.”

Chang warned against extending New START without Beijing’s participation. “This is no time for the U.S. to agree to an extension of the New START Treaty with Russia,” he said. “Russia and China are de-facto allies, and they are ganging up on America. Without China in a deal — Beijing has flatly rejected every nuclear arms-control initiative of the U.S. —no treaty can be in America’s interest.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

It was billed as the scandal that threatened to shake the core of European democracy.

Explosive allegations, a spectacular police operation and allegations of big money used by three non-EU countries to influence the European Parliament’s decisions.

At the centre of the storm was then-MEP and Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili, young, glamorous, and well-connected.

Three years later, the European Parliament corruption scandal remains unresolved, the trial date has not been set, and the methods used by Belgian authorities have come under scrutiny.

Kaili, who was relieved of her duties as an EU lawmaker and declared persona non grata, says she was set up and is demanding justice.

“Justice is based on evidence and facts,” Kaili said in an exclusive interview for Euronews. “Three years ago, optics were presented as justice, but now we have the clarity to see what actually happened.”

Her case has returned to the media spotlight after former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, top European civil servant Stefano Sannino, and a staff member connected to the College of Europe were detained and named as suspects in a separate alleged corruption case earlier this month, investigated by the European Public Prosecutors’ Office (EPPO) and led by the Belgian police.

Kaili is defending her innocence and accusing Belgian authorities of botched methods, political framing, collusion with the media and the staging of evidence.

Kaili also said she was not surprised by the arrest of three Italian nationals in connection with the Mogherini case, as there is an effort to portray southern European countries as corrupt in public opinion, according to her.

Kaili told Euronews her professional career and personal life have been upended since the scandal broke in 2022. She also says her case is a warning to other politicians.

“When they destroy the principle of presumption of innocence, when they chose a target, stage photos and write the script before the case opens, that means being a politician in Belgium, in the European Union, is not safe,” she told Euronews.

“Politicians should not be afraid to work at European institutions. They should not be afraid to become a target. I hoped that my case would serve as a lesson. But what happened to Mogherini, it’s another case of selective political prosecution.”

Anatomy of a very public scandal

In December 2022, Belgian authorities conducted a series of spectacular raids across several locations, including Kaili’s Brussels home, as part of an investigation led by magistrate Michel Claise.

A photograph of a suitcase, replete with €500 banknotes, was released by the Belgian federal police as what they called evidence of alleged corruption, with Kaili at the centre of it.

The picture went global, and she became the face of the scandal.

She was arrested and her parliamentary immunity waived. Her partner, Francesco Giorgi, and her father, who was found with a suitcase containing cash in a hotel, were also apprehended and accused of being complicit in the alleged corruption scheme, which added up to more than €1.5 million seized in total.

Throughout the investigation, Kaili said she had no personal connection to the money found at her home address, pointing instead to another former MEP, Pier Antonio Panzeri.

Belgian authorities suggested that Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania could have paid Kaili and others large sums to lobby on their behalf. Qatar and Morocco have repeatedly denied the allegations of cash for influence.

The spectacular operation, with no precedent in European history since the EU common institutions were established, put Belgium, its police, secret service and investigative authorities at the centre of an international story, without fear or favour for politicians or foreign governments.

That was in sharp contrast with the picture that emerged after the Paris and Brussels terrorist attacks, in which Belgian authorities came out tainted by operational failures.

At the time, Kaili was a well-known figure in the Brussels bubble, often attending high-profile events and meetings. She has maintained her innocence throughout and refused a plea deal.

Now she is demanding justice for herself.

Troubled and difficult investigation

Since the European Parliament corruption scandal first broke, the investigation has suffered several setbacks, including the resignations of key figures in the case.

Its lead investigative judge, Claise, who first headed the case, resigned in 2023 over concerns of conflict of interest. However, he denied that it played any role in the investigation.

The Belgian federal prosecutor in charge of the case at the time, Raphael Malagnini, also resigned in 2023 to take a different job.

The methods employed by the investigating authorities, which also included the Belgian secret service, have also come into question.

Kaili spent four months in preventive detention before she was released under electronic bracelet monitoring. Her lawyers said at the time that the treatment she received while in prison amounted to torture.

Questions around the way Kaili’s immunity as an elected member of the European Parliament was lifted, which her lawyers argue was done illegally, the nature and timing of sensitive leaks published in the press and counter-probes have impacted the case, which is still not set for trial.

While information “leaking” to the media during an active probe is not rare and reflects the investigative nature of journalism, the details, timing and access to documents deemed highly sensitive went beyond just leaks, according to Kaili.

She told Euronews that Belgian authorities worked closely with a group of journalists to “write and present a script” in which she would be found guilty before she could defend herself.

“We have messages between the prosecutor, the police and journalists preparing articles before the investigation even started, deciding how they would title it and trying to twist everything to fit a headline,” she said. “These are not leaks, this is pre-orchestration.”

At the time, the Greek centre-left politician was portrayed as an ambitious woman seeking to climb the social ladder, enjoying the perks of an expensive lifestyle beyond her duties as a politician.

“I was actually very hard working,” she pointed out.

Kaili insists that she had a mandate from the European Parliament to establish relations with the Gulf countries, citing internal emails.

Asked by Euronews what the motivation could ultimately be if her allegations — which would point to serious negligence — are proven correct before the law, she replied: “That’s a very good question, but it would require a trial.”

Belgian fixation with southern Europe?

The former MEP told Euronews she decided to speak up now because of what she calls a worrying pattern related to southern European nationals working for EU institutions.

Earlier this month, one of Italy’s top diplomats, Mogherini, stepped down from her role as rector of the College of Europe, an influential educational institution close to the EU, over public allegations of graft, again implicating a high-level official from the south of the continent.

Lawyers representing Mogherini said she was ready and willing to collaborate in the investigation, which remains ongoing.

“I think it’s easy to attack the southern European countries and create a narrative and an assumption. But the assumption of the opposite of facts and it destroys lives,” she said.

“And the reason why I’m speaking out, even though it has caused to much trouble to my family, and even to my case, is because this should not happen to anyone,” Kaili concluded.

The Belgian prosecutor’s office did not respond to a request for comment by Euronews.

Watch the entire interview in the player above.