Mike Pompeo Narrowly Greenlit To Be Secretary Of State By Foreign Affairs Committee

Secretary of State-designate Mike Pompeo smiles after his introduction before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a confirmation Thursday, April 12, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Secretary of State-designate Mike Pompeo smiles after his introduction before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a confirmation Thursday, April 12, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin / AP Photo
Secretary of State-designate Mike Pompeo smiles after his introduction before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a confirmation Thursday, April 12, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Secretary of State-designate Mike Pompeo smiles after his introduction before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a confirmation Thursday, April 12, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin / AP Photo

Mike Pompeo Narrowly Greenlit To Be Secretary Of State By Foreign Affairs Committee

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CIA director Mike Pompeo has been grilled for weeks before the Senate Foreign Affairs committee, hoping to lead the State Department. This comes after the short-lived Secretary of State term of former Exxon executive Rex Tillerson ended last month. Pompeo has been controversial, both as a former Kansas congressman and as CIA director, including anti-Muslim comments. For a moment, it looked like the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee wouldn’t recommend Pompeo, which would have been the first “no” vote since 1925. But after a last-minute vote change from libertarian Sen. Rand Paul, Pompeo got through. “I will say this about Rand Paul: he’s never let me down,” Trump said last week. “Rand Paul is a very special guy as far as I’m concerned.”

Global affairs staff writer at The Atlantic Uri Friedman joins Worldview to discuss Pompeo and the future of the State Department.