Schatz says he will vote ‘no’ on Pompeo nomination

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) is set to oppose CIA Director Mike Pompeo’s nomination to the top job at the State Department. 

“I voted YES on Pompeo for CIA on the theory that he would be the ‘adult in the room.’ I was wrong,” Schatz wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “I am voting NO on Pompeo for Secretary of State because our top diplomat should believe in diplomacy. He has an alarming tendency towards military provocation and brinkmanship.”

I voted YES on Pompeo for CIA on the theory that he would be the “adult in the room.” I was wrong. I am voting NO on Pompeo for Secretary of State because our top diplomat should believe in diplomacy. He has an alarming tendency towards military provocation and brinkmanship.

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) April 11, 2018

{mosads}

Schatz’s announcement makes him the first Democrat who voted last year to confirm Pompeo as the CIA chief to oppose his nomination for secretary of State. 

Pompeo was tapped for the top diplomatic job last month after President Trump abruptly and unceremoniously fired now-former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

He is set to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday for a hearing on his nomination.

While the other 13 Democrats who voted in 2017 to confirm Pompeo have not yet indicated whether they will sign off on his nomination to lead the State Department, some have voiced concerns about the CIA director’s hawkish approach to foreign policy.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, said last month that he has “grave concerns” about Pompeo’s nomination to the top State post, because of his views on diplomacy. Likewise, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), another member of the Foreign Relations Committee, has expressed concerns about the State Department nomination.

Both she and Kaine met with Pompeo on Tuesday to discuss the nomination, and have left the door open to voting for him.