[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 64 (Thursday, April 19, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Nomination of Mike Pompeo
Mr. BURR. Mr. President, I rise today because of what is on our
schedule for next week. Next week, the Senate will consider the
nomination by the President for his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.
This is one of those times that I want to compliment the
administration on a great pick. Mike Pompeo is a great leader. Mike, as
a teenager, decided he wanted to go to West Point. Not only did he
graduate from West Point, he graduated from West Point at the top of
his class. He went into one of the least likely places, the Cavalry. He
was a magnificent leader within the U.S. Army Cavalry.
He went on to Harvard Law School, and he earned his law degree, but
he didn't stop there. He was invited to be part of the Harvard Law
Review, which is a very special cadre of individuals.
He left and started an aerospace company, as many know--a very
successful business. After that, because he believed community service
was important, he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, State of
Kansas, where he served three terms with great distinction.
He was tapped, all of a sudden, to the Director of the CIA in one of
the most challenging times to be involved in intelligence, much less to
be the Director of the CIA.
By all accounts, those of us who serve on the Intelligence Committee
and those people within the intelligence community but, more
importantly, our partners around the world, after a very short period
of time, have gained unbelievable respect for Mike Pompeo.
It is tough for me to believe that this is not a nomination we are
passing like the last two Secretaries of State, John Kerry and Senator
Hillary Clinton. The vote was 94 to 2 for both of them. I was here. I
am pretty sure that I supported both of them, and it is not because I
aligned with them politically. It is because I inherently believe that
a President has the right to pick his nominees and for those nominees
to serve, and short of something that is a disqualifier that the Senate
finds in their background, the President should have the authority to
have that person serve.
I just described to you the background of Mike Pompeo. Somebody is
going to be hard-pressed to show me anything that is a disqualifier--
other than politics. This institution has shown that politics never
plays a part in nominations, whether we are in charge or whether the
other side is in charge, regardless of who is at the White House.
This institution has been bogged down because nominations take weeks.
We pass nobody under unanimous consent. Everybody is a challenge. It
makes you wonder why people like Mike Pompeo would, in fact, go through
the process to be confirmed.
Let me remind my colleagues, we just confirmed him for his post, so
he has already been confirmed to serve in the administration in one of
the most challenging jobs--the CIA Director. For some reason, people
now find that he is not qualified to be Secretary of State. What could
it be, other than politics, that comes into play?
I am here to attest to my colleagues that Mike Pompeo is a good man.
He is a good husband. He is a good father. He has been a great leader.
As a Member of the Senate with the charge of confirming nominees, I
would say that this is the type of person we pray will be sent to us by
the executive branch to confirm in a role.
I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle--you may have
differences with positions he has taken in the past, but for God's
sake, do not question his qualifications to be a great leader. He has
proved it. Do not question his background from a standpoint of
education or his commitment to the country. He has passed the hardest
tests in education, and, more importantly, he has passed the most
important test of patriotism. He has served his country with
distinction. My hope, my plea with my fellow colleagues is that they
will allow Mike Pompeo to continue to serve his country, this time in
the role of Secretary of State. I urge my colleagues to support him.
I yield back my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Colorado.
Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to be allowed to
speak for one minute.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I rise today to recommend and urge my
colleagues to vote for Jim Bridenstine as Administrator of NASA. We
will be voting on his nomination momentarily.
Jim Bridenstine has incredible experience, an incredible resume, and
an incredible understanding of the mission before NASA. We need
somebody with a vision. We need somebody who actually has an idea of
where we should take our great space mission--somebody who has
commercial experience, somebody who has government experience, somebody
who has management experience, and, yes, somebody who has experience
within the industry itself, and that person is Jim Bridenstine.
Jim has bipartisan support and support from the House. My fellow
colleague, Democratic Congressman Ed Perlmutter from Colorado, along
with a dozen other Democratic Members from the House of
Representatives, said that Jim Bridenstine will be an excellent NASA
Administrator. He has the understanding, background, capability, and,
more importantly, the drive and desire to do an excellent and
outstanding job at NASA. I urge my colleagues to vote yes.
You just heard our colleague Richard Burr talk about Director
Pompeo's nomination as Secretary of State. Blind bipartisanship cannot
be the only reason that drives votes in this Chamber. Whether it is for
the Secretary of State or the Director of NASA, I urge my colleagues to
vote yes, put partisanship aside, and start moving these nominations
and doing what is right for this country. I urge my colleagues to vote
yes on Jim Bridenstine.
I yield back my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and
consent to the Bridenstine nomination?
Mr. GRASSLEY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Perdue). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 50, nays 49, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 80 Ex.]
YEAS--50
Alexander
Barrasso
Blunt
Boozman
Burr
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Corker
Cornyn
Cotton
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Enzi
Ernst
Fischer
Flake
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heller
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
McConnell
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Perdue
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott
Shelby
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Wicker
Young
NAYS--49
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coons
Cortez Masto
Donnelly
Duckworth
Durbin
Feinstein
Gillibrand
Harris
Hassan
Heinrich
Heitkamp
Hirono
Jones
Kaine
King
Klobuchar
Leahy
Manchin
Markey
McCaskill
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Nelson
Peters
Reed
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Smith
Stabenow
Tester
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--1
McCain
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the President
will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
The majority leader.
____________________