Shifting American diplomacy as Ukraine hawks resign

What’s happening: Victoria Nuland, America’s third-ranking diplomat and an extremely hawkish proponent of America’s support for Ukraine, unexpectedly announced that she will retire from diplomacy in the next few weeks.

• Unknowns: Nuland, who currently serves as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, mysteriously chose to retire her post at age 62. She is no older than some who recently served as Secretary of State — a position for which she could have been selected in a hypothetical second Biden term.

Why it matters: Nuland’s resignation will not immediately weaken American support for Ukraine. The end of her nearly 30-year career — in which she played a major role in America’s hawkish post-Cold War policy — is an important symbolic moment, though: it may herald a decline in American global interventionism.

How diplomacy works: The two types of diplomats are career and political. The former work in civil service for decades, while the latter are appointed by the president and are often aligned with the president’s political party. Nuland is a rare influential political appointee who worked for both parties — and supported interventionism at every turn:

• Under Clinton: Nuland oversaw America’s post-Soviet policy.

• Under W. Bush: She helped oversee the Iraq War while working in Vice President Dick Cheney’s office.

• Under Obama: Nuland garnered attention after the leak of a secretly recorded phone call, in which she discussed who should/should not serve in the post-Maidan Ukrainian government.

Times are a’changing: Nuland’s replacement, former ambassador John Bass, may further indicate the end of American interventionism; Bass was tasked with leading America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.