On the eve of his trip to Europe, Rex Tillerson gave a speech last week that European allies had waited months to hear: an "ironclad" promise of US support to its oldest allies.
The relief in European capitals lasted barely a day as reports surfaced of a White House plan to oust the US secretary of state, plunging America's friends back into confusion over President Donald Trump's foreign policy.
The uncertainty is particularly acute given Washington's leading role in crises in North Korea and Syria.
"Just as Tillerson comes to Brussels to give a public statement of support that the EU and Nato have wanted all along, it seems he has no mandate, that the guillotine is hanging over his head," said an EU official involved in diplomacy with White House officials.
"It leaves Europe just as doubtful as before about Trump."
US officials said on Thursday (local time) the White House had a plan for CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace Tillerson but Trump said on Friday he was not leaving and the secretary of state said on Saturday the reports were untrue.
European leaders yearn for stability in US foreign policy. They are troubled by Trump's "America first" rhetoric and inconsistent statements on Nato and the European Union.
In addition, Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate change accord and his decision not to certify Iran's compliance with a nuclear deal undermine European priorities.
"The chaos in the administration doesn't help in the current geopolitical climate," said a senior French diplomat.
Early last week, Tillerson, a former Exxon Mobil chief executive, delivered a long address in support of Europe in Washington more akin to traditional US policy.
"The United States remains committed to our enduring relationship with Europe. Our security commitments to European allies are ironclad," he told a think tank.
He said he would convey that message to the European Union and Nato. He is set to visit Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna on Thursday and Paris on Friday.
The question is whether European officials believe him, given tensions during his April visit to Europe, when Reuters reported Tillerson initially planned to skip a Nato meeting in Brussels and then only attended under pressure from allies.
"If there were expectations that Tillerson might evolve into a counterweight to Trump, someone who could pass on messages from partners and exert moderating influence over American foreign policy – those expectations have been disappointed," said Niels Annen, foreign policy spokesman for Germany's Social Democrats in parliament.
"On his watch, the State Department has become a non-actor."
Despite Tillerson's pledge to reform the US foreign service, European governments take a dim view of how he has sought to cut costs at the State Department, with top diplomatic posts unfilled almost a year into the administration.
The French have gone around Tillerson to develop contacts with US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, while the EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini has gone directly to Vice President Mike Pence.
Berlin has focused on Capitol Hill, as well as Kelly, McMaster and Mattis.
Yet it is unclear if that access translates into a direct impact on Trump's foreign policy, diplomats said.
