Democrats Suspect Political Motives In U.S. Ambassador To Ukraine Early Departure From Post
Credit: Wikipedia Public Domain / Marie L. Yovanovitch, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
DIPLOMATIC TIMES STAFF
Two top U.S. Democratic lawmakers are suggesting that the early departure of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine may have been a politically motivated move on the part of President Donald Trump’s administration. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch is a career diplomat who has served during both Republican and Democratic administrations. The diplomat is leaving her post by the end of May, more than two months before her scheduled departure. Yovanovitch has recently been the subject of a spate of public attacks by Ukraine’s prosecutor-general.
Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer today made the following statement on the recall of Ambassador Masha Yovanovitch from her post in Ukraine:
“Ambassador Yovanovitch is a dedicated public servant and a diplomat of the highest caliber who has represented the United States under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The White House’s outrageous decision to recall her is a political hit job and the latest in this Administration’s campaign against career State Department personnel. It’s clear that this decision was politically motivated, as allies of President Trump had joined foreign actors in lobbying for the Ambassador’s dismissal.”
Source: oiac.org / U.S. Representative Eliot Engel (D-New York), Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
“By recalling Ambassador Yovanovitch just mere months before her tenure in Ukraine was set to end, the Administration is harming American interests and undermining American diplomacy. We call on the Administration to reverse this decision immediately. In this period of transition, Ukraine needs gifted professionals like Ambassador Yovanovitch more than ever.”
Ambassador Yovanovitch is a graduate of Princeton University where she earned a BA in History and Russian Studies. She studied at the Pushkin Institute and received an MS from the National Defense University.
