The Senate is expected to confirm Mike Pompeo as President Trump’s secretary of state as early as this week, after he found a way to squeak through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday.
Pompeo, currently serving as CIA director, generated opposition from most Democrats and one Republican, which complicated his confirmation process. But the Trump administration was always looking past that hurdle, and weeks ago decided to let him play a key role in laying the groundwork for upcoming talks between the U.S. and North Korea.
Pompeo’s supporters in the Senate said his nomination will move forward for a vote no matter what, and he’ll win the necessary majority to become the new secretary of state, they hope, by week’s end.
“The only thing that matters is 50 votes at the end of the day, so who cares,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said he told Pompeo in a Tuesday phone call after it became apparent Corker’s panel was unlikely to endorse his nomination.
Pompeo’s prospects improved dramatically late last week when Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat representing deep-red North Dakota, announced she would vote for Pompeo on the Senate floor.
Prior to her announcement, Republicans appeared one vote short of confirming Pompeo on their own with a simple majority, thanks to the objections of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Sen. John McCain’s continued absence from the Senate. That left Pompeo with a likely 49-50 outcome, but Heitkamp’s support virtually guaranteed that he will secure a 50-49 majority.
Republicans said they expect more Democrats in addition to Heitkamp to vote for Pompeo. Fourteen Democrats supported his confirmation to the CIA a year ago, including Heitkamp.
“We will confirm Mike Pompeo as secretary of state,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. “No question.”
His outlook improved Monday, when Paul decided he could support Pompeo after all, following a talk with President Trump and Pompeo himself. Despite a technical snag at the committee, Paul’s support helped it approve of Pompeo’s nomination by a slim majority.
Either way, Senate leaders said Pompeo would be heading to the floor.
“It makes no sense to block Pompeo … at a time when we are engaging in the most dangerous and fragile geopolitical negotiations in recent memory,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said. “And to basically deny the presidents secretary of state undercuts the country at a time when we need that leadership.”
Pompeo’s nomination is scheduled for a vote just as his role in the upcoming North Korea talks has been expanded. The White House announced last week that Pompeo met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to begin to lay the groundwork for a meeting between Kim Jong Un and Trump as soon as next month.
Pompeo was serving in his capacity as CIA director, and his actions earned praise, even from Democrats who opposed his nomination, who said they were pleased to see Trump laying the groundwork for the big meeting.
But Democrats said it did not convince them to change their opposition to Pompeo, who they fear is too hawkish and will not put diplomacy ahead of military solutions.
Pompeo opposes the Iran nuclear deal and has made controversial statements about Muslims and gays, Democrats told the Washington Examiner as they explained their opposition.
His nomination comes on the heels of Trump’s decision to select former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton to serve as his national security adviser despite fears by opponents that Bolton is a conservative hawk who has called for taking military action against Iran and North Korea.
“People are very nervous that Trump has got too many people around him who are in the ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ camp,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told the Washington Examiner.
The top Democrat on the Foreign Relations panel, Sen. Bob Menendez, of New Jersey, criticized Pompeo for withholding his plan to meet with Kim Jong Un, although Pompeo gave notice to the Senate Intelligence Committee, which oversees the CIA.
Menendez cited a number of reasons for his decision to vote against Pompeo, who served in the U.S. House, representing Kansas’s 4th district, for six years.
“Past statements indicate he has a preference for military action before exhausting diplomacy,” said Menendez. “Furthermore, he was unable to satisfactorily explain or express contrition for some of the more egregious statements he made as a member of Congress about Muslims, or defend his positions denying women and LGBTQ individuals’ fundamental human rights.”
Pompeo’s trip to Pyongyang, the first of its kind for any CIA director, elevated his status at a critical moment in the nomination process. Republicans and the Trump administration used the meeting to tout Pompeo’s diplomacy skills and the need to confirm him to the job quickly.
“Nothing could better underscore the importance of getting America’s top diplomat in place for such a time as this,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted. “Dems have an opportunity to put politics aside, acknowledge our national security is too important, and confirm Mike Pompeo. Statesmanship.”
Corker said he believes Harvard-educated Pompeo, who also graduated first in his class at West Point Military Academy, is the most qualified person for the job in Washington and blamed Democratic opposition to a hyper-partisan environment in Congress and the deep desire to block Trump at all costs.
“You can’t find anybody who would know more about what is happening around the world today anywhere in Washington other than Mike Pompeo,” Corker said. “I wouldn’t shame my friends on the Democratic side but, really?”
Corker said the Democratic opposition is more about opposing Trump than opposing Pompeo.
“In their heart of hearts, surely, they’d rather have Pompeo sitting down with [Defense Secretary Jim] Mattis talking to the president about leaving Syria immediately, or whatever, than they would not having a secretary of state. Truth-serum wise, they would probably agree.”
