Ex-Ukraine ambassador at center of impeachment inquiry reportedly retires from State Department

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is retiring from her role in the State Department, sources familiar with her decision confirmed.

Yovanovitch enjoyed a 33-year career in the foreign service, but things took a turn for the worse for her under the Trump administration. She recently played a central role in President Trump's impeachment inquiry and provided testimony about Trump's dealings with Ukraine during the House's investigation last year.

Yovanovitch accused the Trump administration, namely Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, of launching a smear campaign against her because she disagreed with his efforts to reshape diplomacy with Kyiv through what she described as an "irregular channel." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo maintains Ukraine policy was carried out by the State Department.

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The ambassador also testified she was told to "watch my back" in the days before she was recalled from her post in May. Giuliani's associate Lev Parnas alleges Trump pushed for her firing on multiple occasions, as well, and Parnas provided Congress documents suggesting Yovanovitch may have been under surveillance at one point, though not from an administration official.

Since her ouster, Yovanovitch had remained on State Department payroll as a fellow at Georgetown University. Read more at NPR and The Hill.