NYT reported a couple days ago that Secretary of State Michael Pompeo (also called Trump’s Shadow SecDef by Politico’s Nahal Toosi) reportedly told Mitch McConnell that he would not run for Senate from Kansas, his home state, a blow to GOP hopes there https://nyti.ms/2ZVU0Nn.
Is he staying put in Foggy Bottom for now coz there will be some warfighting in the horizon? Make sure you get a selfie with him on his next embassy visit to add to your mementos! And here folks thought John Bolton was going to take us to the next war! Apologies to Ambassador B (Also JB if you’re reading, go talk about the drug deal without a subpoena, and we’ll still buy your book).
So sorry for the folks rumored to be on the short-list to be the 71st SecState. A missed opportunity for another redesign, rebranding, and re-tooling of the official arm of statecraft in less than four years.
In related news, media reports say that Trump told people that he had watched Carlson’s Fox News show (Buzzfeed calls him “an influential voice for anti-interventionism)” and “it had affected Trump’s view on the Iran situation.”
Do we need to call their hq Foggy Bottom2 now?
We’ve stayed up on New Year’s eve and if feels like we’ve been up since then … ugh! The blues are upon us like a thick fog of winter … nope, there’s no app that can get rid of that.
We realize we’re only at the second week of 2020, and we have to admit that the year started off shitty, but it could have been a lot worse. Well … it could still get worse.
Be careful out there, wherever you are, even without a security alert at post.
NEW @GarethPorter : Are we looking at Pompeo's Tonkin Gulf incident? https://t.co/bSqvVKqxDH pic.twitter.com/Zx4adLXRIw
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) January 9, 2020
Mike Pompeo is a chronic, documented liar. In 2017, he lied about U.S. intelligence on Russia. In 2018, he lied about intelligence on Saudi Arabia. In 2019, he lied about his knowledge of the Ukraine plot.
Now he's lying about the intelligence on Iran. https://t.co/yDdzvmbfW8
— Will Saletan (@saletan) January 8, 2020
Opinion: Mike Pompeo is now lying about his lies https://t.co/88HH6Y3S0i
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 7, 2020
Our story on how Pompeo pushed Trump to kill Suleimani lays that out. One official said it had been a “mistake” for Pompeo, Trump and others to tell the public there had been intelligence showing an “imminent attack.” https://t.co/8rkM7K8SGM
— Edward Wong (@ewong) January 9, 2020
Here's my piece from last June. I think it's become pretty clear that Mike Pompeo is the most dangerous, dishonest non-Trump in the Cabinet now, no small feat for sure https://t.co/TdYFRSoVFz
— Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) January 6, 2020
“‘The worry at the Pentagon is that [Esper] defers to Pompeo’,”
@nahaltoosi delves into the question of why the Secretary of State, and not the Secretary of Defense, is the public face of US operations against Iran. https://t.co/sDEURScY7U
— Bianna Golodryga (@biannagolodryga) January 7, 2020