Donnelly becomes third Dem to support Pompeo

Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) on Monday became the third Democrat to say he will vote for CIA Director Mike Pompeo to be President Trump’s next secretary of State.

“We need a Secretary of State who will give the president an honest assessment on critical issues, including Russia, Syria, and the defeat of [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria] ISIS. I believe Director Pompeo is capable of advancing U.S. interests and leading the State Department,” Donnelly said in a statement.

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Pompeo already has the votes needed to be confirmed by the full Senate.

In addition to Donnelly, Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) — each of whom are up for reelection in states Trump won in 2016 — have said they will vote for Pompeo.

With Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) opposed to the nomination, Pompeo only needed to pick up one Democratic vote in order to secure the 50 votes needed to be confirmed.

But the boost of momentum comes as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is poised to snub Pompeo on Monday evening by refusing to give him a favorable vote.

Paul, a member of the panel, is expected to join with the 10 Democrats on the committee to oppose Pompeo’s nomination.

But Republicans are expected to bring his nomination to the Senate floor regardless of the committee vote.

Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) could try to send Pompeo to the Senate floor with either an unfavorable recommendation or no recommendation.

As an alternative, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could try to discharge the nomination from committee, a move which could ultimately need 60 votes.

Several other Democratic senators remain on the fence ahead of a showdown over Pompeo.

Democratic Sen. Doug Jones (Ala.), who wasn’t in the chamber for Pompeo’s CIA director vote, has yet to say if he will support Pompeo.

Meanwhile, of the 14 Democrats — plus Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with the Democrats — who supported Pompeo last year, five have yet to announce how they will vote: Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Minority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.), Mark Warner (Va.) and King.