Mike Pompeo was among a trio of controversial Cabinet and Cabinet-level nominees the president named in recent weeks. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images Pompeo confirmed as secretary of state Most Democrats opposed the nominee for his hawkish views on foreign policy.

The Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo to be President Donald Trump’s secretary of state on Thursday, after a handful of Democrats facing difficult reelection challenges joined every Republican in backing the CIA director.

Pompeo’s hawkish foreign policy views drew strong opposition from the left, but he ultimately won over Democratic Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Bill Nelson of Florida, Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Doug Jones of Alabama.


Pompeo, who was confirmed on a 57-42 vote, was sworn in early Thursday afternoon by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, according to State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert.

He’s wasting little time. Almost immediately after being sworn in, Pompeo was to fly to Brussels for a meeting of foreign ministers, followed by stops in Riyadh, Jerusalem and Amman over the next four days. The newly minted secretary of state is expected to discuss a range of hot issues with counterparts in Europe and the Middle East, including the fate of the Iran nuclear deal.

Pompeo ultimately received more Democratic votes for secretary of state than Rex Tillerson. And unlike Tillerson, who repeatedly clashed with and was undercut by Trump, Pompeo enjoys a positive relationship with the president. Trump applauded Pompeo’s confirmation, hailing him as a “patriot” with “immense talent, energy and intellect” who will be an asset for the United States.

“He will always put the interests of America first,” Trump said in a statement. “He has my trust. He has my support.”

Pompeo is also expected to play a major role in talks with North Korea. He met with dictator Kim Jong Un over Easter weekend in a private trip to Pyongyang. The secret summit came ahead of an expected meeting between Trump and Kim.

The Trump administration had little margin for error in confirming Pompeo. With Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) out recovering from cancer treatment, Republicans’ majority had slimmed to 50-49. Libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had also initially announced his opposition to Pompeo.

The former Kansas congressman was poised just days ago to get an unfavorable recommendation from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee until Paul flipped, citing assurances from the president and incoming secretary that the war in Iraq was a “mistake” and that the U.S. should wind down its presence in Afghanistan.

Republican leaders were determined to bring Pompeo’s nomination to the floor regardless of the committee vote. But had Paul remained opposed, he and Democrats could have killed the nomination outright.

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Paul’s shifting position, however, all but assured Pompeo would breeze though Thursday’s confirmation. Republicans maintained that he is well-qualified to be America’s top diplomat and criticized Democrats for playing politics with his nomination. Fourteen Senate Democrats had voted to confirm him as CIA director in January 2017.

“From the founding of the republic until 2017, the Senate has never required a cloture vote to confirm a secretary of state nominee. Now we’re at two,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell complained earlier Thursday. “I guess Senate Democrats are in a history-making mood. Because over the past 15 months, they’ve embarked on a partisan campaign to block, obstruct and delay President Trump’s nominees that is quite simply without precedent in American history.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday he was troubled by Pompeo’s past rhetoric and argued that he was too hawkish to be secretary of state. He also indicated that Pompeo’s confirmation hearing did nothing to convince him that he would serve as a check on the president.

“This is not about denying the president his team just for the sake of it,” Schumer said. “This is about the role of the Congress and, frankly, the Cabinet to provide a check on the president, who might go off the rails and undo the respect for rule of law, the tradition of rule of law that we have had in this country for so long.”

Aside from concerns about his foreign policy views, many Democrats also opposed Pompeo because of past comments he’s made denigrating Muslims and members of the LGBT community.

Pompeo was among a trio of controversial Cabinet and Cabinet-level nominees the president named in recent weeks, and he is expected to have the easiest time getting confirmed.

Pompeo’s deputy at the CIA, Gina Haspel, is expected to have her confirmation hearing to succeed him as CIA director next month. Department of Veterans Affairs secretary nominee Ronny Jackson withdrew from consideration Thursday morning following allegations that he drank on the job and loosely dispensed pills on foreign trips.

The Senate also confirmed Richard Grenell to be the ambassador to Germany on Thursday on a 56-42 vote.

Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.