Acting ambassador to China reportedly leaving post due to Trump's climate policy


The chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing is ending his 27-year career at the State Department due to President Trump pulling the United States out of the Paris Agreement to combat climate change, a senior U.S. official told Reuters Monday.
The official said the acting ambassador, David Rank, could not support the decision and didn't think he was able to give China a diplomatic note letting the Chinese government know of the move. A spokeswoman for the State Department confirmed that Rank is leaving his post, but did not comment on why he is deciding to depart now. A U.S. official told Reuters that Rank announced on Monday he planned to retire, but the State Department told him to leave immediately.
Rank is a career foreign service officer who became deputy chief of mission in Beijing in January 2016. In May, the Senate confirmed Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) as the new ambassador to China, though Branstad has yet to assume the position.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Can Trump put his tariffs on stronger legal footing?
Today's Big Question Appeals court says 'emergency' tariffs are improper
-
Film reviews: The Roses, Splitsville, and Twinless
Feature A happy union devolves into domestic warfare, a couple's open marriage reaps chaos, and an unlikely friendship takes surprising turns
-
Thought-provoking podcasts you may have missed this summer
The Week Recommends Check out a true crime binger, a deep-dive into history and more
-
US kills 11 on 'drug-carrying boat' off Venezuela
Speed Read Trump claimed those killed in the strike were 'positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists' shipping drugs to the US
-
Trump vows to send federal forces to Chicago, Baltimore
Speed Read The announcement followed a California judge ruling that Trump's LA troop deployment was illegal
-
Trump crypto token launch earns family billions
Speed Read The World Liberty Financial token is now the Trump family's 'most valuable asset'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revolt
Speed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges