One of the State Department's top three senior officials is retiring this week. Ambassador D. Bruce Wharton was designated as Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (R) on December 8, 2016. He was one of the top two senior officials who remained at the State Department after the January 20 transition.

With the announcement by USAID Administrator Raj Shah that he would step down in February, the development and foreign policy community has responded by lamenting his departure, lauding his tenure, and speculating on his replacement.