January 21 Shortly after Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, the U.S. media noticed that a huge sign with the “professional ethics” set by former Secretary of State Pompeo was removed from the U.S. State Department.
According to the Associated Press, on the 20th, staff removed the giant sign from the lobby of the U.S. State Department.
The sign has been prominently claimed to honor “the staff members who died abroad while serving the United States”, but many career diplomats considered it insulting and full of unnecessary clichés.
“I believe that our colleagues don’t need [who] remind us of shared values,” Ned Price, a spokesman for the State Department of State, said.
U.S. media pointed out that Pompeo announced his “professional ethics” statement in April 2019, claiming to be “attentional to improve morale”.
However, this is counterproductive, and many people complain that the statement shows a “condescending attitude”.
In addition, there have been accusations that Pompeo himself and some of his senior aides have failed to comply with the professional ethics mentioned in the statement.
