NCRI Staff
NCRI – The Senate voted Thursday to confirm CIA chief Mike Pompeo as President Trump’s next secretary of state, ending a contentious nomination battle.
Pompeo was confirmed on a 57-42 vote.
All Republicans present voted to confirm Pompeo. Seven senators who caucus with the Democrats voted yes, including several in tight re-election contests, like North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly.
Pompeo, a former Republican congressman from Kansas, replaces Rex Tillerson.
The Trump administration had pushed for lawmakers to confirm Pompeo by Thursday so he could head to a NATO meeting in Brussels on Friday.
Pompeo is expected to be sworn in, almost immediately. A long list of pressing issues awaits him, including a decision on the Iran nuclear deal and Trump’s upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, for which Pompeo laid the groundwork.
