White House adviser Kellyanne Conway urged Democratic senators to support Mike Pompeo’s nomination to be secretary of state on Wednesday, pointing twice to positive words from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Conway cited President Trump’s vanquished 2016 campaign rival during a conference call with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., as the fate of Pompeo’s nomination is thrown into uncertainty by a growing number of Democratic “no” votes.
The counselor to the president said Pompeo deserved Democratic support because he received “the commendation of no less than Hillary Clinton.”
Pompeo was confirmed as CIA director in a 66-32 vote last year, but four Democrats who supported him now say they will vote against his nomination.
Republicans hold just 51 seats in the Senate, and with Arizona Sen. John McCain’s absence for cancer treatment and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s opposition to Pompeo, Democratic votes are needed.
“Former Democratic secretaries of state Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton each have shown praise for Mr. Pompeo and noted his desire to improve the morale at the State Department and support the career staff that is so important to American diplomacy,” Conway said.
Later, Conway cited Clinton again, saying: “We have submitted a nominee who should pass bipartisan muster, evidenced by the fact that he did a year ago, 14 months ago in his current position, where he has performed exceptionally and ability, and with the commendation of no less than Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, and others. So we feel confidence Director Pompeo meets that standard.”
Democrats who voted for Pompeo to be CIA director but now plan to oppose him include Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Dianne Feinstein of California, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Paul voted against him last year.
Earlier this month, Clinton said of Pompeo: “I don’t know what will happen with the nomination of Mike Pompeo to become the next secretary of state, but the one small glimmer of hope is when he went into the CIA, he only brought two people with him and he really relied on the career intelligence people. … If he will rebuild the State Department, and start listening to those who have very valuable experience, maybe we can work ourselves out of this hole we’re in.”
With opposition to Pompeo from both Paul and nine of 10 Democrats on the 21-member Senate Foreign Relations Committee, it’s possible that Pompeo will be unable to get a positive committee recommendation, introducing the unusual possibility of a floor vote without one.
Conway and Cotton declined to provide additional information about Pompeo’s recent visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ahead of an upcoming meeting between Kim and Trump, but Cotton claimed that Democrats blocking Pompeo “would send a very bad sign and I believe set back the preparations and maybe even the results” of a Trump-Kim meeting.
Cotton said he was not personally concerned about whether Pompeo’s nomination is at risk. Conway did not offer an answer.
“No matter what happens in that committee, Mike Pompeo will be confirmed next week,” Cotton said.
