WASHINGTON \u2014 Aiming to quell concerns before what is likely to be a narrow confirmation vote, Secretary of State-designate Mike Pompeo vowed on Thursday to ramp up efforts against Russia in \u201ceach place we confront them.\u201d But he ducked and dodged when asked whether he supports President Donald Trump\u2019s pounding criticism of the federal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pompeo, now Trump\u2019s CIA chief, tread carefully when confronted with several of the president\u2019s controversial and undiplomatic statements, focusing instead on his plans to rebuild a depleted agency and restore its influence. Pompeo suggested he did not share all the president\u2019s views \u2014 including his skepticism about Russia\u2019s interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI take a back seat to no one\u201d when it comes to standing up to Russia, Pompeo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, when asked if he would resign if Trump moved to scuttle the probe by firing special counsel Robert Mueller or the deputy attorney general to whom he reports, he said no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pompeo\u2019s nomination faces stiff opposition from a handful of Republicans and many Democrats as well as supporters of the Iran nuclear deal, environmentalists and minority rights groups, and his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee appeared designed to blunt their criticism. The CIA chief told senators that he has been miscast as a \u201chawk\u201d despite previous comments savaging the Iran accord and hinting at regime change in North Korea. He maintained he wants to improve the Iran deal and would continue efforts to do so even if Trump withdraws from it as he has threatened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his testimony, Pompeo confirmed for the first time publicly that he\u2019s been interviewed by the team of special counsel Mueller, who is investigating possible ties between Russia and Trump\u2019s presidential campaign as well as possible obstruction of justice issues. But he wouldn\u2019t answer questions about the contents of the interview, arguing it would be improper since, as CIA director in charge of overseas intelligence gathering, he has been a \u201cparticipant\u201d in Mueller\u2019s probe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under questioning, he said he would be unlikely to resign as secretary of state if Trump were to fire Mueller. Lawmakers are concerned the president may seek Mueller\u2019s ouster to try to shut down the investigation, and the White House has said it believes Trump does have the authority to fire him if desired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy instincts tell me no,\u201d Pompeo said about possibly resigning. \u201cMy instincts tell me my obligation to continue to serve as America\u2019s senior diplomat will be more important in times of domestic political turmoil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout the hearing, he drew a sharp contrast between himself and Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil who Trump unceremoniously fired last month. He lamented the \u201cdemoralizing\u201d vacancies at the top echelons of the department during Tillerson\u2019s brief tenure and said he planned to fill those vacancies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He cast his close connection to Trump as an advantage that would help him restore the significance of the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy relationship with President Trump is due to one thing: We\u2019ve demonstrated value to him at the CIA. So, in turn, he has come to rely on us,\u201d Pompeo said. \u201cI intend to ensure that the Department of State will be just as central to the president\u2019s policies and the national security of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His remarks before the committee were the first chance for lawmakers and the public to hear directly from the former Kansas congressman about his approach to diplomacy and the role of the State Department, should he be confirmed. Pompeo\u2019s views on global issues are well known \u2014 he was questioned extensively by senators for his confirmation to run the CIA \u2014 but Democratic senators have raised questions about his fitness to be top diplomat, given his hawkish views and past comments about minorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., took Pompeo to task over for saying previously that Muslims have a special obligation to denounce extremism and for his longstanding position that gays should not be able to marry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI continue to hold that view,\u201d Pompeo said of gay marriage, though he declined repeatedly to answer whether he believes gay sex is a \u201cperversion.\u201d Pompeo said that his record at the CIA and elsewhere proves he treats everyone equally and with respect, regardless of religion, gender or sexual orientation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He sought to pre-empt concerns about Trump\u2019s apparent unwillingness to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin directly. He said a long list of punitive actions taken under Trump show the U.S. takes the threat from Russia seriously, adding that \u201cwe need to push back in each place we confront them,\u201d including the economic and cyber arenas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An avowed opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, Pompeo said he\u2019d work immediately if confirmed to \u201cfix\u201d the agreement that Trump has threatened to abandon if it\u2019s not strengthened. Pompeo wouldn\u2019t say explicitly if he\u2019d advocate a withdrawal if there\u2019s no fix by Trump\u2019s May 12 deadline, suggesting there could be an extension if significant progress was being made by then. Still, he affirmed that he won\u2019t support staying in over the long term unless more restrictions are placed on Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s no chance that we can fix it, I will recommend to the president that we work with our allies to achieve a better outcome and to achieve a better deal,\u201d Pompeo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To the dismay of some Democratic lawmakers, Pompeo equivocated when asked about climate change \u2014 acknowledging it is occurring but saying only that it\u2019s \u201clikely\u201d that humans are contributing to it. Still, although Trump has announced the U.S. is pulling out of the Paris global climate agreement, Pompeo said the State Department should be involved in global efforts to address global warming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s National Security Adviser John Bolton said in a statement that Pompeo is \u201ca talented and experienced public servant\u201d and said the administration needs him as secretary of state \u201cas we support the President and take on some of the toughest foreign policy issues of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Secretary of State-designate Mike Pompeo now Trump\u2019s CIA chief, tread carefully when confronted with several of the president\u2019s controversial and undiplomatic statements, focusing instead on his plans to rebuild a depleted agency and restore its influence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":45920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":31,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[38,106,31,33,9],"tags":[],"coauthors":[5308],"class_list":["post-15088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-newsletters","category-federal-oversight"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"2KBFKN64DBHEDEITEPNHZC2GI4","arc_canonical_url":"\/home\/2018\/04\/13\/pompeo-vows-to-confront-russia-dodges-mueller-questions\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n