Some diplomats said the president’s speech was a much-needed antidote to distrust and dismissiveness at the State Department during the Trump administration.
Pledging to rebuild international alliances and bolster the United States’ moral standing, President Biden on Thursday outlined plans to “re-engage the world.” But first, he sought to win over the diplomats whose job it is to carry out his vision. With State Department employees tuning in from around the country and overseas, Mr. Biden promised “to have your back” in a speech directed at career diplomats and Civil Service staff members who struggled under President Donald J. Trump to promote American values abroad while they were under assault at home. Mr. Biden acknowledged as much. “This has been a difficult few years,” he said in a short address delivered in an auditorium of about 50 masked employees at the State Department headquarters in Washington. But, he said, “you are the face of America, and it matters.” “You are the center of all that I intend to do,” the president said. “You are the heart of it.” Yet some diplomats remained skeptical. Mr. Biden’s gesture was appreciated, they said, and his promises of empowering employees hit all the right notes. But with political appointees beginning to fill the top ranks at the State Department, career diplomats who said they stuck it out during the Trump administration expressed frustration about being passed over by loyalists to Mr. Biden. “Our diplomats have heard a lot about swagger and ethos in the past four years,” said Brett Bruen, a former Foreign Service Officer and a member of the Obama administration’s National Security Council. “What they really want is support and substance.” He said he had spoken with diplomats and other former colleagues who were still at the department; they had expressed some disappointment with Mr. Biden’s speech, given that it did not address how to promote and elevate officials into more senior jobs.
