Sen. Brian Schatz: Dems Might Not Support Pompeo as Secretary of State

Mike Pompeo's confirmation for secretary of state could be in jeopardy if one Democratic Senator's insistence his colleagues are thinking about pulling their support for him turns out to be true.

Pompeo has served as director of the CIA since last year. President Donald Trump ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and nominated Pompeo to take his place Tuesday.

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, is not convinced Pompeo will receive the 51 votes needed to have his nomination confirmed.

"I think there are a number of us who voted for him last time who are actively reconsidering based on his service in the administration," Schatz told The Washington Post. "A lot of us gave him the benefit of the doubt. We were told he was going to handle everything on the level and be nonpolitical. And it's not clear that that's his record at the CIA."

Republicans currently have 51 seats in Senate and Democrats have 49. Pompeo was confirmed via a 66-32 last January.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the other hand, praised Trump's decision to nominate Pompeo to serve as America's top diplomat.

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