White House Says Pompeo Opponents Are Undermining North Korea Talks

Rand has said he opposes Pompeo because of his support for the Iraq War.

The strategic roster of closed-door meetings Pompeo has had with senators so far suggests that the nominee himself has been keenly aware of the shift in focus from the committee vote total to where the floor vote stands.

“I like the fact that Pompeo met with him”, Corker said, adding, “I hope that a lot of other people will be doing the same thing”.

Secretary of State nominations traditionally pass with wide bi-partisan approval. Even The Washington Post editorial board warned Democrats to quit playing games and confirm him.

Like many Democrats, Paul said Pompeo is too hawkish to be the country’s top diplomat. “I sense a certain disdain for diplomacy in Mike Pompeo that I believe disqualifies him from being our next senior diplomat”.

On a White House call with reporters, Republican Senator Tom Cotton warned Democratic senators up for re-election in states Trump won in 2016 not to vote against Pompeo. He’ll then be in a better position to tell Trump what a great deal Trump got and why the United States need not back out of the deal.

“The reality is even Democrats who’ve been inclined to support some of our nominations haven’t [changed their minds about Pompeo], so I don’t know that it moves the ball in either direction”, Sen. “For these reasons, I have concluded that I can not support Director Pompeo to lead the State Department at this critical time”. Politico reports that Democrats were already hedging bets on blocking Pompeo.

Paul was the only one of Trump’s fellow Republicans to vote against Pompeo’s nomination to be Central Intelligence Agency director.

The increasing opposition arrives after a secretive meeting Pompeo held with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on Easter weekend, ahead of Trump’s planned sit-down with the head of the oppressive regime. Sen.

But right now, chances are good Mike Pompeo may not become Secretary of State. Pompeo can afford to lose only one vote on the Senate committee.

As it stands, several committee Democrats still haven’t announced where they will end up – Sen. The 10th, Senator Chris Coons, is undecided. He acknowledged that the Russians interfered in the 2016 USA election and said the USA needed to “push back in each place we confront them”. Their new standard seems to be that any nominee who agrees with the elected President is disqualified.

Menendez echoed concerns lodged by other Democratic senators that Pompeo did little during his public hearing to roll back his comments against Muslims and gay marriage, and failed to outline a clear foreign policy strategy.

During his congressional career, Pompeo was a top recipient of campaign funding from the oil billionaire Koch brothers. Trump told reporters he dismissed Tillerson for differences over issues like the Iran nuclear agreement.

New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen Tuesday evening announced her opposition to Pompeo becoming Secretary of State. These are management principles that reflect Mr. Pompeo’s life experience as the owner of a business and a Kansas congressman – getting out and pressing the flesh is the starting point. All three, he warned, would have trouble explaining their opposition to “an obviously qualified nominee for whom they voted a year ago”.

CHANG: Have you taken any steps to talk to some of your more moderate colleagues to try to persuade them to be no votes on Pompeo?

There’s also 2018 elements to consider as well.