Rasool was expelled on Friday 14 March, mere days after President Cyril Ramaphosa said Rasool was “on the ground” in Washington, engaging with stakeholders to “underscore the importance” of deepening economic, cultural and political relations between the US and SA.

Sec. of State Marco Rubio announced the expulsion of South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool following remarks Rasool made accusing the United States of engaging in "supremacist" policies domestically and globally.