The administration of US President Donald Trump has removed the American ambassador responsible for Tonga as part of a sweeping diplomatic overhaul that will see nearly 30 career diplomats reassigned from ambassadorial and senior foreign service positions worldwide.
Marie Damour. Photo/US Embassy
Marie Damour, who was appointed in 2022 as US Ambassador to the Republic of Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga, Nauru, and Tuvalu, is currently based in Suva, Fiji. Although Tonga commissioned its own embassy under the Biden administration in 2023, the ambassador continued to operate from Fiji.
The move is part of a broader effort to align US diplomatic representation with Trump’s “America First” priorities.
According to two State Department officials, chiefs of mission in at least 29 countries were informed last week that their tenures would end in January. The officials reportedly spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss internal personnel changes.
All affected diplomats were appointed during the Biden administration and had survived an earlier purge in Trump’s second term that primarily targeted political appointees.
That changed on Wednesday when notices were issued from Washington, advising ambassadors of their imminent departure.
Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the president and typically remain in their posts for three to four years.
Those impacted by the shake-up will not lose their foreign service status but will return to Washington for reassignment if they choose, the officials reportedly said.
The announcement follows last week’s partial travel ban affecting citizens from 15 nations, including Tonga.
The moves signal President Trump’s continued push to dismantle or reverse key policies and personnel decisions from the Biden administration.
Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has relied on executive orders and other mechanisms to roll back his predecessor’s initiatives and replace diplomatic and federal appointees.
Among the changes, he has ended Biden-era policies such as “catch-and-release” and specific parole programs, reinstated the “Remain in Mexico” policy, deployed the National Guard to bolster border security, and outlined plans for a large-scale deportation operation.
Mr Trump has argued that the broad restrictions are designed to safeguard national security and address concerns about the ability to vet people from the affected nations. But critics of his administration have denounced the policy as discriminatory, since it mainly applies to nations in Africa and Asia.
