From the very beginning of his term, President Joe Biden prided himself as a foreign policy president. “Diplomacy is back,” he declared. And yet, when historians assess Biden’s legacy, foreign policy will be among his worst areas.

The problem is not simply Biden or even Secretary of State Antony Blinken, whose naivete in the face of evil too often makes him seem like the second coming of Frank Kellogg. The problem, rather, is a slew of special envoys appointed to take charge of Biden’s top initiatives. Whereas both law and precedent create a confirmation process for assistant secretaries and above, special envoys, as well as the National Security Council staff, face none.