Senate confirms Pompeo to lead State Department
WASHINGTON – The Senate on Thursday confirmed CIA Director Pompeo as Secretary of State.
The upper chamber approved the nomination in a 57-42 vote.
All Republicans voted yes as did seven Democrats.
Earlier this week the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 11-9 to favorably recommend Pompeo.
Pompeo has been criticized by civil liberties groups for supporting the detention of enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay as well as backing what some describe as invasive National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs. Pompeo has suggested support for the use of enhanced interrogation techniques on terrorist suspects.
At his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Pompeo pushed back against suggestions that he it is too hawkish. Pompeo told the committee he believes military force “is the last resort” and “must always be so.”
Many Democrats praised Pompeo last week when it was revealed that he had secretly met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un ahead of a scheduled summit with President Donald Trump.
Pompeo is expected to sworn-in later today and is scheduled to attend a NATO conference in Brussels on Friday.

Bryan is an award-winning political journalist who has extensive experience covering Congress and Maryland state government.
His work includes coverage of the election of Donald Trump, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions-as well as that of the Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Larry Hogan, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryan has broken stories involving athletic and sexual assault scandals with the Baltimore Post-Examiner.
His original UMBC investigation gained international attention, was featured in People Magazine and he was interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” and local radio stations. Bryan broke subsequent stories documenting UMBC’s omission of a sexual assault on their daily crime log and a federal investigation related to the university’s handling of an alleged sexual assault.