United States Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson leads the ceremony of the US Independence Day celebration at a Taguig hotel on Thursday, July 3, 2025. (Photo from US Embassy in Manila)
US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson is set to leave the Philippines at the start of 2026 as she concludes her tour of duty.
Carlson’s departure from Manila, where she has been assigned since July 2022, was announced by the US embassy on Monday, Dec. 29.
“Ambassador Carlson will complete her tour as Ambassador to the Philippines in January,” US embassy spokesman Jameson DeBose said.
The embassy’s announcement came amid reports that President Donald Trump was recalling nearly 30 diplomats, including ambassadors and senior embassy posts, from different parts of the world, including from the Philippines.
The Associated Press reported that two State Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said chiefs of mission of at least 29 countries were informed that their tenures would end in January 2026. US ambassadors typically serve their posts from three to four years.
The US embassy maintained that Carlson “will complete her tour as Ambassador to the Philippines in January," in a career that the ambassador herself described as "rewarding."