Now the American Foreign Service Association, an independent professional body representing US diplomats, is considering making its first formal complaint about a US ambassadorial nominee’s suitability since 1992, in a sign that recent appointments may have proven the final straw for the diplomatic community.

◼ US ambassadorial nominees face more backlash over appointments - The Guardian

Association of diplomats considers criticising the giving of posts to donors who had little or no knowledge about assigned countries...

The three nominees – George Tsunis, Noah Mamet and Colleen Bell – combined raised more than $4.2m for Obama’s re-election campaign. Their appointments caused outrage last month after Senate hearings revealed they had little or no knowledge of their future postings.

A Guardian investigation in July revealed that the controversial practice of rewarding donors with plum foreign postings has accelerated under Obama, leaving the average “price” paid by his donors for ambassadorships in the last election cycle at nearly $2m.