The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pompeo grilled about his closeness to Trump
WASHINGTON — Leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee challenged Mike Pompeo on Thursday to explain how he would restrain President Trump from acting impulsively on the global stage, as the secretary of state nominee faced tough questioning about his close relationship with the president.
“Many strong voices have been terminated or resigned,” panel chairman Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told Pompeo, adding that “it’s fair for our members to ask if your relationship is rooted in a candid, healthy, give-and-take dynamic or whether it’s based on deferential willingness to go along to get along.”
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the top Democrat on the panel, was more pointed in his questions, asking Pompeo: “Will you stand up to President Trump and say ‘no, you are wrong in that view?’ Or will you be a yes man?”
Pompeo pushed back as his confirmation hearing got underway, stressing that as CIA director, “I was able to persuade him” when they disagreed on policy, and would use their close relationship to influence the president in a positive direction.
Pompeo’s predecessor, Rex Tillerson, left the helm of the State Department at the end of last month after a testy tenure. Tillerson and the president clashed over several issues, particularly the Iran nuclear deal, on which Trump and Pompeo are more closely ideologically aligned.
In his opening statement, Pompeo stressed that he would commit to reinvigorating the State Department, where morale and staffing flagged under Tillerson.
Pompeo pledged to be a “good platoon leader,” fill vacancies and “empower” the diplomatic corps.
As the hearing began, a protester who said he was a veteran and former diplomat shouted “this man is not a diplomat” and was escorted out of the room.
Several senior GOP figures turned out to advocate for Pompeo, including former senator and presidential candidate Bob Dole, who addressed the panel, and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, who sat three rows behind Pompeo during the hearing. Haley had a tense relationship with Tillerson.
Senators who have recently met with Pompeo said he appears to be preparing for the job and “doing his homework,” as one aide put it — including contacting eight former secretaries of state in advance of his hearing.
But many Democrats on the panel said they are concerned he might be missing a critical attribute for the job: a willingness to stand up to Trump when the situation requires it.