Pompeo is new secretary of state
WASHINGTON —Mike Pompeo has been sworn is as secretary of state.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito swore Pompeo in Thursday afternoon at the Supreme Court.
Pompeo’s nomination was confirmed by the Senate earlier Thursday.
President Trump applauded the confirmation of his former CIA director as secretary of state, calling him a “patriot.”
“Having a patriot of Mike’s immense talent, energy, and intellect leading the Department of State will be an incredible asset for our country at this critical time in history,” Trump said.
Pompeo secured support from 57 senators, with 42 voting no and one senator absent. It’s one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. Every past nominee since at least the Carter administration has received 85 or more yes votes, with the exception of Trump’s first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. He got 56 yes votes.
Pompeo, a former Kansas congressman, is expected to guide Trump’s foreign policy in a more right-leaning direction than Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO fired by Trump on Twitter last month. He inherits a State Department and diplomatic corps that is deeply demoralized after a tumultuous first year under Tillerson, who pushed budget and staff cuts and eschewed public appearances while leaving key diplomatic positions unfilled.
Pompeo’s opponents had warned that his hawkish foreign policy views and negative comments about gay marriage and Muslims made him ill-equipped to serve as a diplomat or to represent the United States on the world stage.