Pompeo confirmed to replace Rex Tillerson as US secretary of state after receiving backing from 57 senators – but 42 voted no

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The White House on Thursday released two photographs of Mike Pompeo, the new US secretary of state, shaking hands with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. The photos came hours after the US Senate confirmed Pompeo as Donald Trump’s top diplomat.

The photographs were taken during the visit of Pompeo, then the CIA director, to Pyongyang over Easter. In one image, Pompeo and Kim face each other looking serious; in the other, they both appear to wear faint smiles.

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Earlier on Thursday the Senate narrowly confirmed Pompeo’s candidacy, clearing the path for him to take over from Rex Tillerson as Trump faces high-risk moments on Iran and North Korea.



Pompeo secured support from 57 senators, with 42 voting no – one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. Every past nominee since at least the Carter administration has received 85 or more yes votes in the Senate, with the exception of Tillerson, Trump’s first secretary of state, who got 56.

Pompeo is expected to be sworn into office immediately and then depart for Europe on his first official trip.

Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, tweeted: “Great to have Secretary Pompeo confirmed. He will do an excellent job helping @POTUS lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.”

Trump earlier described the pictures of Pompeo and Kim’s encounter as “incredible”.

Pompeo, a former Kansas congressman, is expected to guide Trump’s foreign policy in a more right-leaning direction than Tillerson, the former ExxonMobil CEO fired by Trump on Twitter last month. He inherits a state department and diplomatic corps that is deeply demoralized after a tumultuous first year under Tillerson, who pushed budget and staff cuts and eschewed public appearances while leaving key diplomatic positions unfilled.

The Senate vote followed an uneasy confirmation process for Pompeo that underscored Trump’s growing difficulties in getting nominees in place for top positions. On Monday, it appeared Pompeo would fail a vote in the Senate foreign relations committee, but the panel ultimately cleared him after last-minute support from Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Pompeo met Kim in Pyongyang over Easter. Photograph: AP

A long list of pressing issues awaits him including a decision on the Iran nuclear deal and Trump’s upcoming summit with Kim.

Previously confirmed by the Senate for the CIA job, Pompeo was supported by all the Republican senators and by six Democrats. The Democrats included several up for re-election in conservative-leaning states, including Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. John McCain of Arizona, who is being treated for cancer, was absent.

In the run-up to Pompeo’s confirmation, his backers emphasized his credentials as a West Point and Harvard law school graduate and former congressman who enjoys a close relationship with Trump particularly on North Korea. Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang over Easter after being nominated for his new role. In the North Korean capital he met Kim before the planned meeting with Trump, expected in late May or June.

“He’s the perfect person to come in at this time and lead those efforts” on North Korea, Tennessee Republican Bob Corker said on the Senate floor moments before Pompeo was confirmed.

Yet his opponents had warned that his hawkish foreign policy views and negative comments about gay marriage and Muslims made him ill-equipped to serve as a diplomat or to represent the United States on the world stage. Pompeo used his confirmation hearing to try to soften that image, edging away from past comments about regime change in Pyongyang.