BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been widely denounced by domestic media for his egregious performance in office, most recently on Monday with The Washington Post calling him "the worst secretary of state in history."

In an opinion piece published Monday, Deputy Editorial Page Editor of the newspaper Jackson Diehl pointed out that the top diplomat in Washington "has failed to fill dozens of senior positions at the State Department, and hundreds of career diplomats have left or been driven out in political purges."

Diehl wrote that the State Department's morale is at a historic, all-time low, citing surveys which showed that people who think senior leaders of the State Department "did not maintain high levels of honesty and integrity" grew by 34 percent between 2016 and 2019.

He noted the reason might be that Pompeo has defied legal mandates from Congress, ordered staffers to carry out errands for himself and his family, and fired the State Department's inspector general who was investigating Pompeo's violations, according to the report.

Diehl also wrote in late March that "Pompeo's pandemic performance will ensure his place among the worst ever."