Secretary of State Mike Pompeo answers questions from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee just after President Donald Trump canceled the June 12 summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo answers questions from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee just after President Donald Trump canceled the June 12 summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. J.Scott Applewhite/AP

Pompeo Backs Away From Trump’s Planned State Department Cuts

The secretary repeats his vow to restore workforce “swagger,” and counter Russian election interference.

After just three weeks in office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday distanced himself from some cuts in the Trump administration’s proposed $39 billion budget for the department in fiscal 2019, telling senators “we’re going to get the resources we need” when fiscal 2020 comes around.

In a Foreign Relations Committee hearing dominated by President Trump’s surprise cancellation of the June 12 summit with the leader of North Korea, Pompeo provided written testimony that stressed “our obligation to use taxpayer dollars wisely and effectively” while pressuring other nations to step up their financial contributions.

But when Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., expressed disappointment in the budget’s 30 percent cuts to State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, Pompeo said he “can only speak to what I will endeavor to do” for every region in the world. According to his testimony, Pompeo’s “great goal is to restore the trademark State Department swagger that has been instrumental in advancing American security, prosperity, and liberty for centuries.”

But ranking member Robert Menendez, D-N.J., told Pompeo the administration’s budget proposal is “stunningly irresponsible” and “runs counter to what you said in your confirmation hearing.” Though the secretary had “inherited plummeting morale and a hollowed-out” career diplomatic staff, Menendez commended him for lifting the hiring freeze, even though some bureaus are still not hiring, the senator said.

“Our bureaus still have a little guidance to issue,” Pompeo said, acknowledging “a big gap at the associate secretary level and the undersecretary level.” But his team has created “end-strength goals” in hiring, and “where demand says we need additional talent,” employees at State are being empowered.

Recent actions, such as reinstating the department’s Eligible Family Member hiring program, will help “get our team on the field.” He added, “I know that our career professionals work best when the goals are clear and the leadership team is at full strength.”

Pompeo highlighted a $20 million increase, totaling $55.4 million requested, for the Global Engagement Center set up in March 2016 to counter extremists’ propaganda and disinformation. “We will not tolerate Russian interference in the 2018 elections, and we must take countermeasures in response,” he said.

Pompeo expects to hire 13 full-time career staff, but asked “for a little forbearance” and more time while he settles in at State following a year at the CIA. “I don’t think [the Global Engagement Center] has been well coordinated,” he said, mentioning that it overlaps with four bureaus and two secretariats and dovetails with the agenda of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”

Asked by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., about the transnational refugee crisis originating in the South Sudan, Pompeo said he would consider Booker’s suggestion that a special envoy might be needed, but added, “We may need to rethink our approach.”

Many senators were critical of Trump and Pompeo’s handling of the widely publicized but apparently dead summit aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

But the most sparks flew when Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., picked up the discussion of Trump’s recent zigzags on U.S. sanctions on the Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE, considered a security threat until Trump suggested easing up to help the company protect its jobs. “Given that he hasn’t released his tax returns, how can you assure the American public that his foreign policy is free of his personal conflicts of interest?” Udall asked.

“I find that question bizarre,” Pompeo said. “I’ve been incredibly involved in this administration’s foreign policy for some 16 months now, and I have seen literally no evidence of what you are scurrilously suggesting. It is an outrageous suggestion.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.