Editor's note: This story (originally published on March 14th, 2018, was cited by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on the Senate floor at Mike Pompeo’s confirmation hearing on April 25. Blumenthal called Pompeo “a poster boy for the impact of money in politics” and recommended that all his colleagues read the article. It was printed in its entirety in the Congressional Record.

President Trump nixed Rex Tillerson as secretary of state Tuesday in favor of CIA Director Mike Pompeo, a former Kansas congressman whose political career was paved by Koch Industries.

Headquartered in Pompeo’s former Wichita district, the privately held company run by conservative megadonors Charles and David Koch has funneled more money to the Trump pick than any other federal politician.

The oil-and-gas conglomerate built a reputation for using a network of “dark money” to exert political influence and was Pompeo’s top donor over the course of his former congressional career.

That “in” may work to the advantage of the Koch brothers, who hold a significant interest in global affairs, especially with Trump’s recently imposed tariffs.

Top Donors to Mike Pompeo (Career Totals) Donor Total Koch Industries $400,500 Textron $79,810 Mull Drilling $70,350 Club for Growth $64,817 Ritchie Exploration $55,954 INTRUST Bank $55,300 McCoy Petroleum $52,550 AT&T $51,250 Cox Enterprises $47,300 Emprise Bank $44,555

Since his first bid for Congress in 2010, Pompeo has received $400,500 from Koch Industries — $335,500 from individual employee contributions and $65,000 from its corporate PAC, Center for Responsive Politics data shows.

Each election cycle leading up to his confirmation as CIA director in 2017, Pompeo led all federal politicians in Koch-related donations. He’s also received more money from the oil interest than any candidate since 1989.

Trump’s announcement came in a surprise tweet Tuesday morning, adding Tillerson to a growing list of White House officials to unceremoniously leave the administration.

Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2018

Tillerson thanked members of the State Department in a news conference that afternoon, saying “the world needs selfless leaders such as these.”

“I will address a few administrative matters related to my departure and work towards a smooth and orderly transition for secretary of state-designate, Mike Pompeo,” Tillerson told reporters.

Pompeo’s relationship with the Kochs has held strong over the years. In 2014, when he faced a tough primary challenge, the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity group spent over $409,000 supporting Pompeo.

Other congressional leaders who trailed Pompeo in career donations from Koch Industries include House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) with $274,172 and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) with $148,350.

But Pompeo’s ties to the Koch brothers predate his political career.

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He used investments from the Koch empire to help kick-start a Wichita-based company, Thayer Aerospace. After leaving the company, Pompeo acted as head of Sentry International, an oil drilling manufacturer with Koch ties.

Those investments seem to have paid off.

When Pompeo entered Congress, he brought with him a former Koch Industries lawyer as his chief of staff. Within his first week on the job, Pompeo proposed measures considered top legislative priorities for Koch Industries.

The proposals included cutting funding for an Environmental Protection Agency registry of greenhouse-gas polluters and a database of consumer complaints about unsafe products, The Washington Post reported.

Along with Koch support, Pompeo has been bankrolled by other oil-and-gas interests, including Textron, Mull Drilling and McCoy Petroleum. The industry has given him a total of $1.2 million, the most by any industry, CRP data shows.

Now Pompeo enters the role of the White House’s chief diplomat, a position that can affect the financial interests of multinational companies.

Top Politicians Supported by Koch Industries (Career Totals) Politican Last Office Sought Total Mike Pompeo (R-KS) House $400,500 Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) House $388,766 Paul Ryan (R-WI) House $274,172 Pat Roberts (R-KS) Senate $258,850 James M Inhofe (R-OK) Senate $187,150 Jerry Moran (R-KS) Senate $175,900 Roy Blunt (R-MO) Senate $168,600 Sam Brownback (R) President $168,050 Pete Sessions (R-TX) House $162,000 Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Senate $148,350

The Koch brothers already have a broad international presence. According to the company’s website, Koch companies alone “employ more than 120,000 people across about 60 countries.”

While Pompeo has yet to take a stance on Trump’s recently rolled out tariffs, Charles Koch harshly rejected them, saying in a press release last week that “History is filled with examples of administrations that implemented trade restrictions with devastating results.”

“One might assume that, as head of Koch Industries — a large company involved in many industries, including steel — I would applaud such import tariffs because they would be to our immediate and financial benefit,” he wrote. “Corporate leaders must reject this type of short-term thinking, and we have.”

Late last year, the Charles Koch Foundation embarked on a multimillion-dollar project to promote the realist school of foreign policy in programs at elite universities such as Harvard, Notre Dame and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Koch is an outspoken libertarian when it comes to foreign policy, and the realist school of foreign policy champions restraint on the world stage and taking a backseat on humanitarian intervention and nation-building.



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