March 13, 2018

Who is Mike Pompeo, President Trump’s pick for secretary of state?

Featuring Ilan Goldenberg

Source: NBC News

Journalist Benjy Sarlin

WASHINGTON — Mike Pompeo, the current CIA director who President Donald Trump has picked to replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, is known for both his close ties with the president and his prior career as a hard-charging partisan in Congress.

“Tremendous energy, tremendous intellect, we’re always on the same wavelength,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. “The relationship has been very good, and that’s what I need as secretary of state.”

As secretary of state, Pompeo will face the singularly difficult task of maintaining his relationship with Trump without alienating Democrats and allies elsewhere, reviving a State Department demoralized by a year of upheaval, and managing tense standoffs with North Korea, Iran and Russia.

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Authors

  • Ilan Goldenberg

    Senior Fellow and Director, Middle East Security Program

    Ilan Goldenberg is Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. He is a foreign policy and defense expert with ext...