Top career US diplomat to step down in blow to State Department

The top career US diplomat is stepping down, dealing a blow to the State Department as the Trump administration confronts numerous international challenges.

The State Department’s third-ranking official, Tom Shannon, tells agency staffers Thursday that he will retire as soon as a successor for his Senate-confirmed post is chosen and ready to assume the job.

Shannon is a 35-year veteran of the US Foreign Service and had been the most senior department official to remain in his job after the transition from the Obama to the Trump administration last year.

Shannon says he is retiring for personal and not political reasons, although his departure sends a shockwave through the department and the foreign policy community.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he had asked Shannon to stay on.

— AP