Nominee must sway several senators

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s beleaguered choice for his second secretary of state faces its first test Monday as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a confirmation vote. But the more intense drama is likely to unfold during the week, when Mike Pompeo struggles to find the 50 votes he needs to win the job.

While Republicans control 51 Senate seats, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is not expected to be present. With Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, opposed, if all other Republicans back Pompeo — and that’s not yet clear — he’d still be one short.

The committee, which plans to vote Monday, has 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats. Even if Pompeo gets an unfavorable recommendation from the panel, the Senate is expected to consider the nomination later in the week.

These are the key senators to watch:

• Paul: The only Republican known to be opposed to Pompeo, Paul is under pressure from Trump to reverse himself.

Trump said Wednesday that he was confident that Paul won’t “let me down.” But Paul, who met Thursday with Pompeo after Trump asked them to talk, said it would take a “great deal” to change his mind, including a public declaration that Pompeo believes that the Iraq War was a mistake.

Paul was the sole Republican to vote against Pompeo for CIA director in January 2017 and he’s complicating Trump’s efforts to replace Pompeo at the CIA by opposing his replacement, Gina Haspel.

• Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri: McCaskill, one of the country’s most vulnerable Democrats in November, has yet to say whether she’ll support Pompeo’s nomination. She voted to confirm him as CIA director. Pompeo