CIA Director Mike Pompeo, President Trump’s nominee to secretary of state, is hoping to reassign the nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Australia to a new post in South Korea, according to a report.
Trump picked Adm. Harry Harris, who currently leads U.S. Pacific Command, to serve as the ambassador to Australia in February. But a senior White House official told the Washington Post the Trump administration and Pompeo want Harris to be the U.S. ambassador in Seoul.
Harris was expected to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for a confirmation hearing Tuesday, but that hearing was postponed at the request of the Trump administration.
Harris has reportedly told Pompeo he is willing to serve as the ambassador in South Korea, but approval of the switch is still awaiting Trump’s final approval.
The U.S. embassy in South Korea is currently being led by Charge d’Affaires Mark Knapper, who has been in the leadership role there for 16 months.
Trump, though, has been criticized for failing to fill the ambassador vacancy, which is especially crucial as the president prepares for an historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, expected to take place in either May or June.
The White House was initially planning to tap Victor Cha, a former official on the National Security Council under former President George W. Bush, as the ambassador to South Korea. But the administration reversed course after spending months vetting Cha, according to reports.
Harris, meanwhile, was expected to retire this year, but decided to accept the nomination for ambassador to Australia due to his experience with relations between the U.S. and Australia.
Pompeo vowed during his confirmation hearing to quickly address the vacancy in South Korea.
Trump selected Pompeo to serve as the nation’s top diplomat last month after Rex Tillerson was fired. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Pompeo’s nomination Monday, and he is expected to be confirmed by the Senate this week.
