Washington (CNN) As President Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, prepares to face lawmakers for his second major confirmation hearing as a Trump nominee, scores of former diplomats are urging lawmakers to "focus public attention on the urgent need to restore the power and influence of American diplomacy." Among the letter's signatories are senior diplomats who've served under Republican and Democratic presidents in posts around the world. The majority were career officials, and all served as either ambassadors, assistant secretaries of state, or under secretaries of state. Bill Burns, attained the rank of deputy secretary of state during the Obama administration. The letter was posted online by the non-partisan advocacy group Foreign Policy for America, which recently launched a "#DefendDiplomacy" campaign to draw attention to widespread vacancies in the State Department's upper ranks.

Source: CNN March 29, 2018 15:45 UTC