Pompeo confirmed as secretary of state
Heads to Europe to take care of his first business
WASHINGTON — Mike Pompeo took over as America’s top diplomat Thursday after being confirmed by the Senate and sworn in across the street minutes later. The new secretary of state immediately dashed off to Europe in an energetic start befitting the high-stakes issues awaiting him from Iran to North Korea.
The former CIA director was confirmed on a 57-42 vote. Trump’s first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, got 56 votes.
Pompeo was sworn in at the Supreme Court by Justice Samuel Alito, a fellow Italian-american, who said he was “proud” to officiate the occasion. Pompeo, in a statement relayed by the State Department, said he was “delighted” to serve as America’s top diplomat.
“I am completely humbled by the responsibility and looking forward to serving the American people and getting to work right away,” Pompeo said.
Then it was off to Andrews Air Force Base, where a government aircraft was waiting to ferry him to Brussels for meetings at NATO headquarters. State Department staffers gave a round of applause to Pompeo, who responded as he boarded the aircraft with a casual, “Hi, I’m Mike.”
The State Department said no secretary of state had ever traveled abroad so soon after being confirmed. Originally, Deputy Secretary John Sullivan, who had been filling in as secretary since Tillerson departed, had planned to make the trip. With Pompeo’s confirmation imminent, the plane was held on the tarmac until Pompeo could arrive and swap in.
In Brussels, Pompeo will attend a NATO foreign ministers summit and meet with the top diplomats from Turkey and Italy. Pompeo planned to keep up pressure on NATO’S European members, particularly Germany, to live up to their past pledges to boost their defense spending.
Trump said he was pleased by Pompeo’s confirmation, calling him a “patriot” with “immense talent, energy and intellect.”
“He will always put the interests of America first,” Trump said in a statement. “He has my trust. He has my support.”
Pompeo’s confirmation creates a vacancy atop the CIA that will be filled, at least for now, by Gina Haspel, the intelligence agency’s
No. 2 official. Trump has nominated Haspel to replace Pompeo, but she faces a rocky road to confirmation.
The CIA said she took over Thursday as acting director while the Senate weighs whether to make it permanent.