Senior State Department official praises staff, urges continued engagement in farewell remarks

An unnamed senior State Department official delivered farewell remarks to Department staff, thanking colleagues by name and urging continued U.S. engagement in a more contested world.

The official opened by thanking longtime colleagues and singled out John Bass for partnership and leadership: "To John Bass, I will be forever indebted for your partnership, for your leadership, for your friendship." The speaker listed several senior staff and aides by name, including Susie George, Tom Sullivan, Jess Wright, Deputy Secretaries Kurt Campbell and Rich Verma, and predecessors Wendy Sherman and Brian McKeon.

The address placed the remarks in a broad context. The official recounted joining the Department 32 years earlier and described changes since the post–Cold War period, saying that era "is over" and that the United States faces "intense competition" from revisionist powers and new global challenges that are highly interconnected. The speaker warned that new actors—corporations, nongovernmental organizations and empowered individuals—can both help solve problems and "disrupt and ... derail what we're trying to do." The remarks emphasized alliances and partnerships as central to U.S. influence: "America is so much better off when we're working with others, finding common cause, finding common purpose."

The official repeatedly praised State Department employees and their families for service in difficult postings, saying, "You're the ones who are building those partnerships, strengthening our alliances. You're the ones who are rallying the world in common cause" and adding that staff have risked danger to get "food and medicine" to people in need and to evacuate Americans.

The speech used a cultural reference to underscore the value of public service: invoking the film It's a Wonderful Life and its protagonist George Bailey, the speaker said Department employees are the "George, the Georgette Baileys of our time," and called the Department a "community" that will continue its work through the transition. The official said they will step down from the leadership role and return to private citizenship but will remain a champion for the institution.

No policy proposals, formal decisions, votes or legal authorities were announced during the remarks.

The address concluded with a final expression of gratitude: "I return to the highest calling in a democracy, that of being a private citizen. I'll no longer have the privilege of leading this institution, but I want you to know, I'll be its champion, I will be your champion, forever. Carry on. Thank you."