Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Julie Davis is set to leave her post in June, retiring after a three-decade career as a career diplomat, the State Department confirmed. The move comes amid fresh scrutiny of the Trump administration's approach to the war in Ukraine and follows reports that Davis was frustrated with the president's shifting stance.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott pushed back against a Financial Times report that Davis, who also serves as ambassador to Cyprus, was stepping down over disagreements with President Trump's policy. “It is false to suggest Ambassador Davis is resigning ‘over differences with Donald Trump,’” Piggott said in a statement. He insisted that Davis “has been a steadfast proponent of the Trump Administration’s efforts to bring about a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine.”
According to the Financial Times, Davis felt blindsided by Trump's nomination of John Breslow, an Arizona businessman and Republican donor, to be the next ambassador to Cyprus. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to vote on Breslow's nomination on Thursday. Davis's official title was temporary chargé d’affaires in Kyiv.
Davis took over the senior posting in Kyiv in May 2025, succeeding Bridget Brink, who resigned as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine in protest of Trump's aggressive posture toward the Eastern European nation and what she described as favorable treatment of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Brink is now running as the Democratic nominee for Congress in Michigan’s 7th congressional district.
“I resigned as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine when Trump kept siding with Putin over our democratic partner,” Brink wrote on social media platform X. “Now, my successor is doing the same.” She added: “I knew I had to speak out and run for office because siding with dictators is just not who we are.”
The tension over Ukraine policy is not limited to Democrats. Some Republicans have also voiced frustration with the Trump administration's approach. On Tuesday, former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) published an op-ed in the Washington Post criticizing the Pentagon for failing to disburse a “modest” $400 million in U.S. aid to Ukraine.
“Trump’s focus on ending the war is noble. But the price and stability of peace matter,” McConnell wrote. He argued that “the Pentagon’s approach of withholding or slow-rolling support to Ukraine is in effect the same strategy President Joe Biden deployed,” adding that “hesitating to give Ukraine what it needs weakens its capacity to defend against aggression and hampers the prospects of diplomacy.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers on Wednesday that the Pentagon has released the funds. The administration has also been pressing Putin for a ceasefire, as reported in separate coverage of Trump's discussions with the Russian leader.
The departure of Davis adds to the ongoing turmoil within the U.S. diplomatic corps over Ukraine policy. With her exit, the administration will need to quickly fill the top diplomatic role in Kyiv amid an active war and growing pressure from both parties to clarify its strategy.
