Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is moving immediately to fill vacant senior positions at the State Department, a task so large it has the feel of a “presidential transition” as opposed to a hand-off from one member of President Trump’s Cabinet to another, according to Republican foreign policy experts.

“That is true in the sense that there’s so many vacancies,” Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Elliot Abrams told the Washington Examiner. “It’s really incredible how many vacancies there are. It’s more like starting fresh.”