Pompeo nomination as US secretary of state sent to full Senate

DPA, 24th APRIL, 2018- A US Senate committee voted along party lines Monday to send the nomination of Mike Pompeo to be US President Donald Trump’s secretary of state to the full Senate for a vote.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted favourably recommend Pompeo, who currently is serving as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Trump named Pompeo last month after firing Rex Tillerson.

The vote was closely watched because Pompeo was at risk of not winning a majority, which would have been a rare rebuke of a nominee for the job of secretary of state. Other recent nominees have received the unanimous backing of the committee.

The nomination went through only after a snag caused by the absence of Republican Senator Johnny Isakson, who was away attending a funeral. Democrats objected to allowing a proxy vote, meaning the first round vote was a 10-10 tie. The vote changed to a majority for Pompeo after one of the Democrats on the committee agreed to vote “present” at the urging of committee Chairman Bob Corker, who lamented the partisan atmosphere on the committee.