WASHINGTON, April 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, was set to be confirmed as America’s top diplomat Thursday after narrowly winning approval from a US senate panel.
The midday confirmation vote in the US Senate comes days after a dramatic last-minute flip by Republican Senator Rand Paul gave Pompeo, currently the CIA Director, a narrow edge among committee members.
Paul had for weeks expressed opposition to the spy chief over his stance on the Iraq war and surveillance issues.
His reversal allowed Trump to avoid an embarrassing setback as he sought to replace Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state he fired in March.