WASHINGTON — In a sign of respect to career State Department officials after the rocky tenure of his predecessor Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo may recommend nominating career diplomat David Hale, currently the US ambassador to Pakistan, to be the next undersecretary of state for political affairs, three former senior American officials told Al-Monitor.

Hale, who has been the US envoy to Pakistan since 2015, previously served as US ambassador to Lebanon (2013-2015), special envoy for Middle East peace (2011-2013) and ambassador to Jordan (2005-2008), among other assignments.

Given that Hale has been a foreign service officer since 1984 and has the rank of career minister, his nomination for the State Department's No. 3 job would boost confidence among career officials who have largely felt demoralized and marginalized during the first year and a half of the Donald Trump administration.

Hale did not respond to an emailed query from Al-Monitor on the possible nomination. A State Department official speaking not for attribution said he was not certain if the decision was final. But several sources said they understood that Pompeo wanted to put a career diplomat in the key No. 3 post, rather than a political appointee such as Paula Dobriansky, the well-regarded former Bush-era undersecretary of state for global affairs who had previously been reported to be under consideration for the position.