Rand Paul opposes Pompeo nomination for secretary of state The GOP senator also promised to fight Trump’s nominee to lead the CIA.

Rand Paul is vowing to do everything he can to stop Mike Pompeo from becoming secretary of state.

The libertarian-leaning GOP senator said Wednesday that Pompeo’s earlier support for the Iraq War and defense of enhanced interrogation techniques — or torture, in the view of Paul and many other senators — is disqualifying. And the Kentucky senator indicated he may be willing to filibuster the nominations of both Pompeo and CIA director pick Gina Haspel, who he says is “gleeful” in her defense of torture techniques.


Paul seemed to have no qualms about taking on President Donald Trump, giving a news conference on Wednesday and then launching into a flurry of media hits in opposition to Trump’s attempts to reshuffle his Cabinet after ousting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

“People complain sometimes about the filibuster; they complain about trying to obstruct. I think the debate over whether or not America is a country in favor of torture or not is an important one,” Paul said. “I’m going to do everything I can to block them.”

Paul’s opposition to Pompeo will be more immediately felt because he serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where the GOP enjoys just a one-seat advantage. With Paul opposed, Pompeo could receive an unfavorable committee verdict if Democrats join him in opposition, which would be a serious black mark on Pompeo's nomination.

Pompeo’s previous pushes for regime change in Iran and his hawkish worldview are also at odds with Trump, and therefore he should not be given the job, Paul argued.

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“I’m perplexed by the nomination of people who love the Iraq War so much that they would advocate for a war with Iran next,” Paul said. “It goes against most of the things President Trump campaigned on, that the unintended consequences of regime change in Iraq led to instability in the Middle East.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could still bring Pompeo‘s nomination directly to the Senate floor even if Paul teams with Democrats to vote against him in committee. Red-state Democrats may also feel pressure to support Pompeo on the floor to show they back some of Trump’s nominees.

But there are no moderate Democrats in serious danger this fall on the Foreign Relations Committee, which could be bad news for Pompeo. The top Democrat on the panel, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, said in an interview on Wednesday that Pompeo’s support among Democrats hinges on how he navigates his confirmation hearing in April.

“There are Democrats who supported him for the CIA director, but being secretary of state is totally different than CIA director,” Menendez said of Pompeo. Fifteen Democratic caucus members supported Pompeo to be CIA director last year, but just two of them are on the Foreign Relations panel: Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Tim Kaine of Virginia.

In an interview, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Shaheen and Kaine’s stance on Pompeo could be affected by ongoing debates about North Korea and Iran. But he vowed to bring Pompeo‘s nomination to a floor vote.

“We’ll figure out a way to get him to the floor,” Corker said.

Paul does not serve on the Intelligence panel, so Haspel’s confirmation process may be less rocky. Still, because Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has expressed reservations about Haspel, unanimous Democratic opposition could similarly derail that nomination on the Senate floor.

Paul said Haspel’s remarks about her time overseeing a CIA “black-ops” site disqualified her from the job of leading the intelligence agency, and he seemed bullish on blocking her, citing somewhat skeptical comments from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.): “We’ll see if she has the courage of her convictions to actually vote no.”

Paul said a successful campaign against Haspel “depends on the solidarity of the Democrats.”

“My opposition to her is over her direct participation in interrogation and her gleeful enjoyment at the suffering of someone being tortured,” Paul said. “Sen. McCain has voiced some misgivings about the CIA appointment. … If he alone were to say no, it might be enough.”