US Ambassador to Panama Resigns

Resigns on Principle

John D. Feeley, the U.S. Ambassador to Panama has resigned. His resignation was made public after President Trump’s racist and offensive remarks in a bipartisan Oval Office meeting on immigration Thursday, including calling for less immigrants from Haiti and more immigrants from Norway.

Reuters broke the news, reporting Ambassador Feeley submitted his letter of resignation, saying he is resigning on principle.

“As a junior foreign service officer, I signed an oath to serve faithfully the president and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies. My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honor bound to resign. That time has come,” Ambassador Feeley is quoted by The Telegraph, citing a Reuters report.Â

The U.S. State Dept. has responded by saying Ambassador Feeley is retiring for personal reasons.

Ambassador Feeley has been a career foreign service officer for nearly three decades.

Editor’s Note 1:09 PM ET â€“
TheÂ Telegraph has updated their story:

His resignation was made public hours after Mr Trump’s comments on “s——-” nations were made public, but a senior state department official told Newsweek that Mr Feeley’s decision was made before the remarks.

“Ambassador Feeley informed leadership of his decision on December 27, 2017,” the official said.

NCRM has updated this story accordingly. We will note that “informed leadership” suggests there was a process and a conversation and Trump’s latest remarks could have been the last straw, but that is merely speculation.