Scoop: Ambassador Jeff Flake to leave Turkey post on Sept. 1
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Jeff Flake on Capitol Hill on March 26, 2019. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake, a former Republican senator from Arizona, has informed the White House that he will leave his post in early September, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: In his three years in Ankara, Flake used his political skills — and deep connections with Republicans on Capitol Hill — to ensure that Turkish President Recep Erdoğan approved Sweden's accession into NATO.
- It was a major diplomatic victory for the Biden administration that required convincing Congress to approve the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
Between the lines: Flake's departure would theoretically allow him to get involved in the political process at home, with Arizona expected to be one of the top battleground states of the cycle.
- But there's no indication that the anti-Trump Republican is eager to jump back into politics. In his note to embassy officials, it seems like family was more on his mind.
What they're saying: "As someone new to the role of Ambassador, I'm not used to the cycle of change that is second nature to all of you," Flake wrote. "In Congress, you usually only leave office upon defeat, death, indictment, or conviction."
- "Happily, none of these conditions apply here," he said.
- "We have much to do in the next six weeks, and thereafter. Looking forward to the challenge!"
Zoom out: By tradition, roughly a third of embassy postings — mostly in Western Europe — are given to donors, politicians and other allies. The remaining slots go to foreign service officers in the diplomatic corps.
- For his political appointments, Biden has drawn more on former elected officials — and less on donors — than his predecessors did.
Zoom in: Flake is among the highest-profile ambassadors to indicate he is leaving the administration.
- In 2020, the former two-term senator endorsed Biden and was later rewarded with a diplomatic posting.
- Along with Cindy McCain — the widow of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who initially served as Biden's ambassador to the World Food Program — Flake was one of the most prominent Republicans in the Biden administration.
- McCain left the State Department when Biden helped elevate her to the head of the World Food Program.
- Biden's ambassador to Germany, former University of Pennsylvania President Amy Guttman, announced that she was leaving in mid-May, citing her husband's professional obligations.
