THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2026 13 The fault lines in our world are widening. The cracks have become canyons. … Power is being reshaped in fundamental ways. First, among states, new centers of economic, political and technological influences have emerged. Second, we are witnessing an extraordinary transfer of power away from governments to a handful of private corporations and individuals. … And third, humans are increasingly handing power to machines with artificial agents going rogue and lethal autonomous weapons going from science fiction to military reality. Yet our institutions and systems of governance continue to reflect the power realities and interests of a largely bygone era. That is the defining challenge before us. —UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the UN General Assembly on September 22. Contemporary Quote visa agenda. The New York Times reported that a federal judge in New York, Jeannette Vargas, struck down the administration’s effort to halt visa issuance to applicants from 75 countries, ruling that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s stated rationale had no legal basis. A separate judge ruled in June against a similar halt affecting 39 countries. The department has also paused visa interviews worldwide while consular officers complete training on a new “public charge” screening standard, under which officers would deny visas to applicants likely to rely on public assistance. The action follows a broader pattern of tightened visa restrictions under the current administration, including expanded social media screening, new bonding requirements, and country- specific visa bans. The department has revoked roughly 175,000 visas over the past 18 months for individuals convicted or accused of crimes, or for public criticism of U.S. policy. VOA to Resume Ukrainian-Language Broadcasting Voice of America management announced plans in August to resume Ukrainian-language broadcasting and restore some Ukrainian Service staff to work. VOA Ukrainian Service Director Ruslan Petrychka, who remained on administrative leave in August and could not discuss details of the decision, called the move important “especially now, when Russia is cynically shelling Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities every day.” VOA operates under the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which was targeted for downsizing under an executive order President Donald Trump signed in March 2025. Broadcasting was suspended for the first time since the outlet’s 1942 founding, but a federal judge ordered operations restored the following month, after which VOA resumed broadcasting in Farsi, Pashto, Dari, and Mandarin. An appeals court later paused that ruling, but Congress agreed in January 2026 to provide roughly $653 million in funding for USAGM. In March 2026, a federal judge found that former USAGM head Kari Lake’s leadership had violated federal law and ordered more than 1,000 employees reinstated. Prior to 2025, VOA had broadcast in 49 languages. Canadian Petition to Expel U.S. Ambassador A Canadian House of Commons petition calling for the removal of U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra drew more than 243,000 signatures as of late September, far surpassing the 500 required for parliamentary consideration. The nonbinding petition accuses Hoekstra of undermining U.S.-Canada relations, citing his characterization of Canada’s 2025 federal election as “anti-American” and his framing of President Donald Trump’s “51st state” rhetoric as a “term of endearment.” It also alleges diplomatic overreach, pointing to Hoekstra’s ties to a Michigan- based voter identification app used by an Alberta separatist group and to repeated meetings between State Department officials and an Alberta secessionist organization, both of which Hoekstra has said he knew nothing about. The petition calls on the Canadian government to declare Hoekstra persona non grata and request his removal, to raise his conduct with Washington under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and to direct a parliamentary committee to examine U.S. interference in Canadian domestic affairs. Nominations Update The confirmation of ambassadors and senior foreign affairs officials has continued at an uneven pace since AFSA’s last update in May. The Senate approved an additional tranche of ambassadorial nominations during the summer. On August 7, the Senate confirmed ambassadors to 14 posts, including those Talking Points offers a snapshot of recent developments affecting the Foreign Service. The items in this edition were finalized for publication on September 22, 2026.
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