History Was Their Job—Until It Wasn’t
Trump Removes Entire Advisory Committee on Diplomatic History Amid Rising Approval Ratings
Former President Donald Trump has dismissed all members of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation, a panel long considered nonpartisan and responsible for guiding the publication of the official historical record of U.S. foreign relations.
The terminations were delivered via email last month, with Cate Dillon, White House liaison to the State Department, notifying members of their immediate removal. “On behalf of President Donald Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position… is terminated effective immediately,” Dillon wrote, as first reported by The Washington Post.
No reason for the mass dismissal was provided in the communication.
Controversy Surrounds Key Members
Although no formal justification was given, speculation around the dismissals quickly centered on political bias. Critics on the right have accused several committee members of harboring anti-Trump sentiments, pointing to public statements made during and after Trump’s presidency.
One prominent voice among the former members, historian Timothy Naftali, confirmed his removal on social media platform X. Naftali has previously made statements critical of Trump’s foreign policy and national security decisions.
Also drawing attention is James Goldgeier, the committee’s former chair and a professor at American University. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread protests that followed the death of George Floyd, Goldgeier made several pointed remarks about Trump’s handling of both crises.
In one July 2020 post on X, Goldgeier wrote: “It wasn’t enough for Trump to kill Americans through his incompetence and disinterest in dealing with the pandemic. Now he’s got DHS attacking peaceful Americans to distract from his failure to care about the pandemic.”
These comments and others have led critics to question whether the committee, designed to remain politically neutral, had become ideologically slanted.
What the Committee Does—and Why It Matters
The Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation plays a significant role in maintaining the transparency and accuracy of American diplomatic history. It advises the Office of the Historian at the State Department on publishing the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series—the official collection of declassified documents chronicling U.S. foreign policy decisions.
Its responsibilities include verifying the historical accuracy of documents, ensuring completeness, and maintaining compliance with the law requiring timely public release—usually 30 years after the original documents were created.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Goldgeier pointed out that the committee is still focused on releasing volumes from the Ronald Reagan era, underlining that it does not deal with current or recent administrations. “There’s no work being done here regarding the Trump administration,” he said.
He also raised concerns about the legality of the dismissal, noting that the committee’s existence is congressionally mandated. “It just seems to me like they got a list from all the agencies [of similar committees] … I can’t imagine they looked much into what any of the particular ones did,” he added.
Despite the sudden firings, a senior official from the State Department told the Post that there are no plans to shut the committee down entirely. Instead, the goal appears to be to reconstitute it with new appointees—potentially individuals perceived as more politically neutral or aligned with Trump’s views on national security and governance.
Public Sentiment Shifting in Trump’s Favor
Interestingly, this development comes as Donald Trump’s approval ratings have seen a notable rise. Polling data from InsiderAdvantage and the Trafalgar Group, conducted in April, showed the former president with a narrow edge among likely voters. At the time, 46% of respondents approved of his performance, while 44% disapproved.
However, by late May and into June, sentiment had shifted significantly. A follow-up Trafalgar survey found that 54% of likely voters now said they either approved or strongly approved of Trump’s job performance, compared to 46% who disapproved—a meaningful 8-point swing. Notably, this poll included a slightly higher number of Democratic voters, making the results even more striking.
Rasmussen Reports also showed similar movement. As of June 2, their presidential approval tracker placed Trump at 53% approval, just 3 points shy of where he stood during his first week in office in 2017.
Looking Ahead
While Trump has not publicly commented on the committee dismissals, the move appears to align with his broader approach to reshaping federal institutions he believes have been politicized or weaponized against his presidency. Whether this strategy will be received positively or cause additional controversy remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, with approval numbers on the rise and public interest in government transparency growing, the future of the Advisory Committee—and how its next iteration will operate—remains uncertain.