[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2452-S2454]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



               Nominations and the Appropriations Process

  Madam President, now, let me talk a little bit about bipartisanship 
and what I have stated with regard to my friend and colleague, the 
minority leader. I have encouraging news. We met yesterday in the Rules 
Committee and voted to reduce postcloture debate from 30 hours to 8 
hours for certain nominations. I am not sure we have the 60 votes to 
pass that, but it is something at least we are moving toward with 
regard to the problem of having 86 cloture votes and delaying the time; 
that is, 3 months, by the way, with regard to time lost that we could 
have been working on other issues.
  We still have to consider this change to the rules on the Senate 
floor, but in the course of our debate, the minority whip, Senator 
Durbin, who is an appropriator par excellence, has supported Chairman 
Shelby's commitment to do all 12 appropriations bills--how long, how 
long, how long has it been since we have done appropriations bills and 
voted on amendments on appropriations bills?
  The leadership has apparently decided to recommend that we actually 
return to being a Senate voting on amendments. Many Senators, as I said 
earlier, do not even know what it is like to serve in a functioning 
Senate. They hardly know what it is like to operate under regular 
order, where bills are referred to committee, amended, brought to the 
floor, debated, amended, and then passed when appropriations bills were 
on time. Goodness knows we need to get back to that.
  Members of the Appropriations Committee, without this agreement--
prior to this agreement--were standing on the sidelines, wounded 
cardinals, if you will, with a shrinking slice of the discretionary 
pie. So thank you to the minority whip and thank you to the leadership 
on both sides for our efforts to get back to regular order.
  Now you can take one step further and vote for Mike Pompeo, a 
qualified and honorable candidate to serve as Secretary of State. Most 
of the statements I have heard--I have not paid too much attention to 
the colloquy on the floor or the statements on the floor--but people 
who have reservations have a ``while I'' speech: while I understand his 
qualifications, while I understand he has a great background, first in 
his class at West Point, and while I, and while I, and while I.
  Then, there is the catch: But then, on the other hand, I have some 
concerns. Most of the concerns are in regard to whether Mike Pompeo can 
be diplomatic. I know him. He can be forceful--sometimes he can be a 
little stubborn, but he can be forceful. He is well qualified for the 
job and, yes, he can be diplomatic.
  So I hope we can take this step toward a bipartisan Senate and take 
one further vote and vote for Mike Pompeo, who is certainly qualified. 
I say that because the cloth of comity in this Senate is pretty 
threadbare. We have a situation where we need to return to a sense of 
comity and at least some bipartisanship. Certainly, it would be also to 
set aside personal and partisan concerns and vote for Mr. Pompeo.
  As I said again, we have a void right now. We have a good man to be 
Secretary of State. I urge my colleagues to vote yes, and let's put a 
few threads back into the cloth of comity in the Senate and recommit to 
being the world's greatest deliberative body.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.

[[Page S2453]]

  

  Ms. WARREN. Madam President, I rise to express my strong opposition 
to President Trump's nomination of Mike Pompeo to be the next Secretary 
of State. There are many reasons to oppose this nomination, but the 
main reason for me is pretty straightforward. Mike Pompeo is completely 
unfit to serve as America's chief diplomat.
  During his time as a public servant, Mike Pompeo has embraced a 
variety of views that betray America's values. Whether it is his 
support for interrogation techniques that amount to torture, his 
preference for war over diplomatic solutions, or his hateful, blatantly 
discriminatory views about Muslim and LGBTQ Americans, Mike Pompeo's 
confirmation would degrade America's diplomacy and erode our moral 
standing on the world stage.
  Let's start with his evolving position on torture. In 2014, then-
Congressman Pompeo praised the interrogators who used torture as 
``patriots'' and ``heroes,'' but when seeking confirmation to become 
CIA Director, Mr. Pompeo suddenly said he would ``always comply with 
the law'' prohibiting torture.
  When asked if he would comply with a request from the President to 
use torture, he said he couldn't ``imagine being asked to do so.'' 
Never mind that as a candidate Donald Trump boasted about his desire to 
bring back waterboarding and ``a hell of a lot worse.'' In his later 
written answers, Mr. Pompeo suggested he could support bringing back 
waterboarding and other torture techniques if he thought they were 
necessary.
  So, first, Mike Pompeo was for torture, but when he wanted to be CIA 
Director, he miraculously changed his position. Now he thinks the 
United States should reserve the right to torture people in the future. 
This position undermines our core values as Americans, and that alone 
should disqualify him from being America's Secretary of State, but 
there is more.
  Mike Pompeo's hawkish views could quite literally lead us into 
another war. Just look at his views on Iran. The Iranian Government is 
a bad actor, no doubt about it. That is why the Iran nuclear deal was 
so important. It is easier to counter Iran's bad behavior if it has no 
nuclear weapons than it would be to keep Iran in check if it could 
threaten the region and threaten the world with a nuclear bomb.
  The deal with Iran imposed strong limits and intrusive inspections on 
Iran's nuclear program so it cannot develop a nuclear weapon, and our 
intelligence community tells us it is working. That is very important 
to the security of our allies and the security of the whole world.
  The Iran nuclear deal is a negotiated solution designed to prevent 
Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and it was accomplished without 
resorting to military action. The deal is the product of putting 
diplomacy first. That is good for the security of the United States, 
good for our allies, and good for the world.
  Mike Pompeo doesn't seem to understand that. He has called the Iran 
nuclear deal a ``surrender,'' and he has said the United States should 
walk away. Pompeo has even publicly contemplated regime change. How can 
we expect countries to trust America's word when our chief diplomat 
believes we have the right to break our word and violate international 
agreements at any moment?
  Think for a minute about what it would mean for negotiating any deal 
with North Korea about their nuclear weapons if Mr. Pompeo is in 
charge. He said we can tear up our agreement with Iran, even though 
they have followed through on their part, just because Mr. Trump and 
Mr. Pompeo have decided they don't like it. Who would negotiate with a 
United States that has so little respect for the standing of its 
promises? I cannot in good faith vote in favor of Mr. Pompeo for the 
reasons I have outlined, but there is another reason I cannot vote for 
him, one that is deeply personal to me.
  Shortly after the Boston Marathon attack, then-Congressman Pompeo 
accused Muslim leaders of being silent about the bombing and even said 
they were potentially complicit in the attack. After the marathon 
bombings, all of Boston grieved together, including our Muslim 
leaders. Our Muslim communities helped Massachusetts emerge stronger 
and more united. To suggest otherwise is insulting to the Boston 
Marathon bombing victims and to our Muslim American brothers and 
sisters. When he was shown to be wrong, Mike Pompeo refused to 
apologize. His comments were ignorant, offensive, and just plain wrong. 
They certainly aren't the words of someone who is fit to be America's 
chief diplomat.

  But there is more. Mike Pompeo's longstanding attacks on the LGBTQ 
community also make him unfit to serve as Secretary of State. He 
supported legislation in Congress to allow States not to recognize 
equal marriage, and he relied on financial contributions from hateful 
groups like the Family Research Council. His public record paints a 
deeply disturbing world view.
  The risk posed by this nomination is magnified because Mike Pompeo 
would be teaming up with John Bolton, President Trump's new National 
Security Advisor. John Bolton has never met a war he didn't like, and 
Mike Pompeo supported Bolton's disastrous Iraq War. Together, Mike 
Pompeo and John Bolton will fan the flames of war in President Trump's 
foreign policy because they both embrace military solutions first.
  I hope that, if confirmed, Mr. Pompeo will take real steps to 
prioritize diplomacy, to improve morale at the State Department, and to 
fill key diplomatic positions that have been vacant for far too long. 
But at a time when we are facing enormous global challenges, the State 
Department needs a leader who will put diplomacy first to solve 
problems and to protect our national security. Mike Pompeo is not that 
leader. I strongly urge my colleagues to vote against his nomination.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If no one yields time, the time will be 
charged equally.
  The Senator from Michigan.
  Mr. PETERS. Madam President, I rise to oppose the nomination of CIA 
Director Mike Pompeo to be the Secretary of State.
  I voted against confirming Mike Pompeo to be the Director of the 
Central Intelligence Agency because he lacked the experience and the 
qualifications for the position. His time at the CIA has done nothing 
to ensure me that he now has the capabilities to lead the State 
Department.
  As a Member of the House of Representatives, Mike Pompeo made 
repeated discriminatory remarks about Muslim Americans. He has argued 
that the Muslim American leaders have a ``special obligation'' to 
denounce terrorist attacks, and he has falsely claimed that they have 
failed to do that. I am proud to represent dynamic Muslim and Arab-
American communities in Michigan. I have seen that these patriotic 
communities are often the first to denounce senseless acts of violence 
that pervert the Islamic faith.
  Mike Pompeo also has close ties to a group that is a Southern Poverty 
Law Center ``designated hate group'' because of its anti-Muslim 
rhetoric and conspiracy theories. I seriously question the judgment of 
an elected official who would work with such a group, and I do not 
believe it shows the type of character required in an individual who is 
nominated to be our country's top diplomat. How can someone with this 
attitude work effectively with our allies and partners in the Middle 
East? I don't think he can.
  Mr. Pompeo has also supported bringing back waterboarding and other 
torture measures that do nothing to keep America safe and go against 
our Nation's core values. We now have a President who has said that he 
believes that torture ``absolutely'' works.
  We can do better than this. America is better than this. I voted to 
ban the use of waterboarding and other so-called enhanced interrogation 
measures because they do not work, and in fact, they violate basic 
human rights, undermine our Nation's counterterrorism missions, and 
place our own servicemembers at risk.
  Confirming a Secretary of State that has condoned torture is just 
another step in our Nation's current retreat from being what President 
Ronald Reagan called ``a shining city on the hill.''
  I am concerned that Mike Pompeo will also continue the United States' 
retreat from a leadership role in addressing climate change--an 
existential moral and economic issue that will impact our planet for 
generations to come. Director Pompeo has criticized the Paris climate 
agreement and has

[[Page S2454]]

made statements that contradict the overwhelming scientific events on 
climate change.
  Our Nation faces serious global challenges: Russian aggression, North 
Korea's nuclear weapons program, instability in the Middle East, and 
China's ongoing efforts to expand their power and influence. The world 
is looking to the United States for leadership. This is a time when 
skill and experienced diplomacy is essential to advance our interests 
and our values on the world stage. I do not believe that Director 
Pompeo has the necessary experience, diplomatic skills, and values 
required to be the Secretary of State. I will oppose his nomination 
this afternoon.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.