New nominees face likely Senate backlash
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — The confirmation of President Donald Trump’s picks for secretary of state and CIA director is expected to be hampered but not stymied by a mostly partisan backlash to their records in the administration and the decision that led to their nominations — the termination of Rex Tillerson for being one of the few Cabinet members, Democrats argued Tuesday, who was willing to stand up to the president on foreign policy.
Leaders of both parties predicted Tuesday that it could take a while to confirm CIA Director Mike Pompeo as the new secretary of state and Gina Haspel as Mr. Pompeo’s replacement at the CIA, leaving the State Department officially rudderless at a time when the administration is facing pressing challenges surrounding talks with North Korea, looming deadlines for continued compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, Russian aggression in advance of the 2018 midterm elections, new tariffs and a deteriorating situation in Syria.
“It’ll obviously take some time and effort,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas. “I’m confident we’ll get them confirmed, but when there’s so much of a backlog on nominations already, it just adds two other high-profile nominationsto our workload.”
SenateDemocrats excoriated Mr. Trump, accusing him of further confusing the White House’s often shifting diplomatic stance by ousting Mr. Tillerson. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Mr. Trump “a commander in chaos,” and some of Mr. Tillerson’s harshest Democratic critics rushed to defendhim.
“It is another sign that the Trump administration does not tolerate independent voices,” said Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., a senior senator and former ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. “I had my differences with Mr. Tillerson . . . but it is a concern to see this type of a change and for the apparent reason that Mr. Trump demandstotal loyalty.”
The widespread criticism from Democrats ensures that GOP leaders will have difficulty confirming Mr. Pompeo and Ms. Haspel as expeditiously as Republican leaders hope to do. But the backlash is not expected to upset their eventual chances of confirmation — especially because Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday he has no plans to ask Democrats to oppose their nominations.
The Senate approved Mr. Pompeo last year to be the director of the CIA with the support of 14 Democrats — some of whom sounded bullish about the chances that they would vote for Mr. Pompeo again.
“Every time he’s come in before the [intelligence] committee, he’s been well received, he’s been forthright, answered all the questions,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va. “I always think he was well received.”
But not all Democrats who backed Mr. Pompeo once were willing to commit to doing so again.
“I think there are a number of us who voted for him last time who are actively reconsidering based on his service in the administration,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, DHawaii.