Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spent three hours Wednesday battling Senate Republicans and Democrats who were looking to trash President Trump’s foreign policy, and showed along the way that he’s comfortable with the same brash debate tactics that helped Trump get elected in 2016.
Pompeo was called before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where members of both parties pushed him to criticize Trump’s brazen style when it comes to dealing with foreign leaders. But Pompeo defended Trump’s every move and comment, which led to a snippy ending in which he and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., accused each other of political harassment.
“I’ve now been here three hours, and you’ve got a political soliloquy…” Pompeo complained in the closing minutes, prompting an interruption from Menendez.
“You know what?” Menendez shot back. “I’ve listened to your political soliloquy, as a secretary of state, sitting at that table, demeaning some members here…”
“Want to talk about politics?” Menendez continued. “If President Obama did what President Trump did in Helsinki, I’d be peeling you off the Capitol ceiling. Please.”
Menendez was hot from the start of the hearing, when he pushed Pompeo to explain what exactly transpired in Trump’s private meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pompeo replied a few times by citing the Trump administration’s Russia policy, and bristled when Menendez said Pompeo was dodging his question about the specifics of the meeting.
“The predicate of your question implied some notion that there was something improper about having a one-on-one meeting,” Pompeo said. Under more pressure, he deflected by saying, “Senator, I understand the game you’re playing.”
Pompeo didn’t fare much better with the top Republican on the committee, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. Corker spent several minutes arguing that Congress has few complaints with Pompeo himself, but is far less comfortable with President Trump.
“It’s the president that causes people to have concerns,” he said, citing Trump’s public hints that the U.S. may not defend Montenegro despite its NATO commitment, and indicating in public that Russia may not have meddled in the U.S. election.
“Why does he do these things?” Corker asked Pompeo, who didn’t give an inch.
“I disagree with most of what you just said there,” he told Corker. Pompeo went on to note all the actions that Trump has taken against Russia, including sanctions and removing Russian officials from the U.S.
When pressed by other senators on the same points, Pompeo offered to list all the tough steps the Trump administration has taken against Russia.
Like Menendez, Corker complained that Pompeo wasn’t answering the heart of his question, which was about the uncertainty Trump creates through his public statements and tweeting, and Pompeo rejected that assertion as well.
“I think I responded to everything that you said, senator,” Pompeo said.
“No, you didn’t,” he said. “You just didn’t, OK?”
“We just simply disagree,” Pompeo said.
“No, we don’t disagree,” Corker said. “Hell, let’s run the transcript again if you want to talk about it.”
Pompeo gave as good as he got from rank-and-file members of the committee as well. When Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., accused Trump of continuing to flip-flop on whether Russia meddled in the election or whether that claim was a “hoax,” Pompeo insisted Trump has been “clear” by setting a tough Russia policy.
When Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said Congress has no way of knowing what commitments Trump won from North Korea on denuclearization, Pompeo said he wouldn’t offer those details, and tried to assure him that the administration is making progress, even if he can’t talk about it.
“Fear not, senator,” Pompeo said as he flashed a smile at Markey.
And when Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said the lack of details about Trump’s private meetings make it easier for Russia and North Korea to claim victory, Pompeo defended the lack of clarity, and said the goal is to build trust so that other private meetings can be held in the future.
“These are important decisions about how much to disclose about private conversations we’ve having, because everyone knows that you may have an expectation that you may have another private conversation one day,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo also made it clear he can fight with words and with silence. At the end of the hearing, when Corker asked if Pompeo wanted to say anything else after Menendez made his statement about “peeling you off the Capitol ceiling,” Pompeo said simply, “Not a word.”
