Pompeo lauds staffers in first full day on job
Secretary of state promises to restore ‘swagger’ to agency
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo introduced himself to hundreds of U.S. diplomats and staffers whopacked the State Department lobby Tuesday, vowing to return “swagger” to a staff that has been demoralized by budget cuts and unfilled vacancies.
Standing on the stairs of the flag-bedecked hall, Pompeo repeatedly said he was “humbled” to lead America’s diplomatic corps. They “need to be in every corner, every stretch of the world” to represent U.S. interests and carry out foreign policy, he said.
The crowd applauded as the former CIA director praised U.S. Foreign and Civil Service officers as “patriots and great Americans” He added, “You will be the diplomatic face to achieve the outcomes that the United States so desperately needs.”
He said President Donald Trump will stop by Wednes- day to lead a ceremonial swearing-in of his new secretary of state. It will be Trump’s first visit to the State Department in the nearly 16 months since he took office.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump introduced Pompeo during a trophy ceremony for the U.S. Military Academy’s football team in the Rose Garden, calling him “a man that has gotten more publicity than me, lately, our new Secretary of State — first in his class at West Point.”
Pompeo, 54, gave his brief remarks at the State Department on his first full day of work there. He had rushed off to meetings with allies in Europe and the Middle East hours after he was confirmed by the Senate last Thursday, and only returned Monday night.
He avoided any discussion of Trump’s foreign policy, or the challenges he faces in an administration that has sparred with traditional allies like Mexico and Germany, and vowed to pull out of international agreements, including the NAFTA trade agreement and the Iran nuclear accord.
His off-the-cuff comments appeared aimed, in part, at distinguishing himself from his unpopular predecessor, Rex Tillerson, who received a similar welcome in the same lobby when he first was confirmed last year.
But Tillerson won few friends with a management style criticized as heavyhanded and aloof, and Trump fired him in March after they clashed on the Iran deal and other policy issues.
Pompeo pointedly said he would spend little time on the 7th floor, site of the mahogony-paneled suite of offices whereTillerson’s critics said he became isolated. Pompeo even joked he wasn’t sure of the location of his new office. “I think it’s the 7th floor, right?”
Pompeo received applause when he and his wife, Susan, walked into the State Department lobby. Though the mood was upbeat, and some snapped cellphone photos of the scene, several members of the audience expressed uncertainty.
“We’ll see,” said one State employee who did not give her name. “We hope now there will be some movement forward.”
The new secretary already has shown a willing- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo receives a warm welcome on his first full day at the department Tuesday. President Trump plans to attend Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony. ness to deal with the traditional requirements of the job. A former member of Congress, he is more comfortable with the media than Tillerson, a former CEO of Exxon Mobil, ever was.
Unlike Tillerson, Pompeo took several reporters on his maiden trip abroad and spoke to them several times. He greeted staff and families at U.S. embassies in most of the countries he visited, another practice Tillerson initially snubbed.
Pompeo is known to have Trump’s trust, which Tillerson struggled to gain.
Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan pulled out all the stops in his introduction, alluding to Pompeo’s Army service and Harvard Law School training to say he would be formidable in any negotiation — a cross between Gen. George Patton, an aggressive leader in World War II, and Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., a famed Supreme Court jurist.
He may need those skills in the weeks ahead. Trump has overhauled much of his national security team, recently naming John Bolton as his new national security adviser, as he prepares for a nuclear summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Pompeo already has helped with the planning, making a secret trip to Pyongyang over Easter weekend, where he spent an hour talking to Kim. Trump has said he anticipates meeting Kim by mid-June, although no date or site has been finalized.
Pompeo also must deal with what critics called Tillerson’s hollowing out of the State Department. Tillerson let go much of the senior leadership and axed or consolidated programs dealing with human rights, climate change, women’s health and other issues.