The State Department’s top European affairs official has resigned and is leaving the foreign service.
Wess Mitchell, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, a Trump appointee, submitted his resignation on Jan. 4, effective Feb. 15, according to the Washington Post. Mitchell’s departure after 16 months comes as President Trump’s approach to transatlantic alliances such as NATO has strained relationships with some traditional U.S. partners abroad.
Mitchell, 41, said his decision shouldn’t be interpreted as a protest against the Trump administration’s foreign policy, instead attributing it to personal and professional factors.
He touted his achievements in shaping the European aspects of national and defense security strategies, while defending some of his more controversial choices, including inviting Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto to Washington for meetings with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton.
“I’m fully supportive of him, the job he’s doing, the leadership team here,” Mitchell said of Pompeo. “But I feel like I’ve done what I came in to do. My kids have a greater claim to my time right now than the public does.”
State Department spokesman Robert Palladino praised Mitchell as a “valued and effective leader” in a pair of tweets Tuesday. Palladino also announced that Mitchell would be replaced by his deputy Elisabeth Millard.
Assistant Secretary A. Wess Mitchell has been a valued and effective leader in @StateDept and good friend to our allies and partners in #Europe. We thank him for his service and wish him and his family well.
— Robert Palladino (@StateDeputySPOX) January 22, 2019
Before joining the State Department, Mitchell worked at the Center for European Policy Analysis, a think tank he co-founded in 2006. He told the Post he had yet to finalize plans for life after Foggy Bottom.
