William Taylor, top US diplomat in Ukraine, is stepping down
William Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, will leave his post at the end of the year, according to a report.
During House impeachment proceedings against President Trump, Taylor questioned the decision to withhold $391 million in military aid for Kiev and an Oval Office meeting with Trump for Ukraine President Voldymyr Zelensky.
It was unclear whether he would leave before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s planned visit to Ukraine next month.
Trump has lit into top diplomats who testified in the probe, calling them “Never Trumpers,” and it appeared unlikely Pompeo would visit Kiev until Taylor was gone.
New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, slammed the move in a statement.
“By unceremoniously recalling Ambassador Taylor, in a manner similar to Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s removal, you would once again denigrate the role of our frontline diplomats serving around the world,” he wrote in a letter to Pompeo.
Trump recalled Yovanovitch from the post in the spring.
Menendez said Pompeo would benefit from Taylor’s expertise and experience during his upcoming trip to Ukraine.
“You and the American people would benefit from his institutional knowledge and counsel during your expected interactions with President Zelensky’s administration,” he wrote.
Taylor, 72, a West Point grad and decorated US Army veteran of the Vietnam War, succeeded Yovanovitch in June.