Key Dem to oppose Pompeo nomination

Source: The Hill

BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 04/18/18 10:07 AM EDT

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday that he will oppose CIA Director Mike Pompeo's nomination to lead the State Department.

"I will be casting a no vote for Director Pompeo to be our secretary of State," Menendez said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event. He added that "I believe our nation’s top diplomat must be forthright, and, more critically, his past sentiments do not reflect our nation’s values, and are not acceptable for our nation’s top diplomat. The American people deserve better."

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Mendendez added on Wednesday that Pompeo's record is "deeply troubling" and Pompeo offered "a series of goals but no strategy" during his nomination's hearing before the Foreign Relations Committee.

"After committing to transparency in his opening statement, he was not forthcoming when I questioned him about his involvement in the Russia investigation and I can tell you even his private conversations with me he didn't tell me about his visit to North Korea," he said.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/383711-key-dem-to-oppose-pompeo-nomination