POLITICAL FIGURES/STATE: “The State Department’s top career diplomat announced his resignation on Thursday [2-1-18], contributing to an exodus of senior diplomats during the Trump administration.
Thomas A. Shannon Jr., the under secretary of state for political affairs, is the department’s third highest ranking official. He will serve until his successor is confirmed by the Senate, according to Heather Nauert, the department’s spokeswoman.
Mr. Shannon served as the acting secretary of state during the first days of the Trump administration while the Senate considered the nomination of Rex W. Tillerson for the department’s top post.
The timing of Mr. Shannon’s announcement was driven by his promise to stay through Mr. Tillerson’s first year, an anniversary that arrived Thursday, said Steve Goldstein, the department’s under secretary for public affairs.
Mr. Goldstein said Mr. Shannon had been hoping to spend more time with his father following the recent death of Mr. Shannon’s mother late last year…
Most of the State Department’s top diplomats have left since the start of the Trump administration.”
-Gardiner Harris, “Top Diplomat Resigns, Continuing Exodus at State Department,” The New York Times online, Feb. 1, 2018