State Department pick Pompeo will clear the air in Foggy Bottom

There has been no shortage of high-profile exits from the Trump orbit so far. News channels routinely display large org charts on their broadcasts, showing the latest photo and name to add to the White House’s menagerie of the recently departed.

Some, like the recent removal of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, felt long overdue. Other dismissals from Trump’s inner circle have come so quickly, the comedic timing almost overshadowed the shock of the announcement.

{mosads}For critics of Trump, this is all the more evidence that his administration is in chaos. When Cabinet officials appear as interchangeable as reality-TV show contestants, the thinking goes, there’s clearly something amiss. It’s no secret that the White House can be a rough-and-tumble place, but the Trump version seems no-holds-barred.

Trump supporters, on the other hand, see the ebb and flow of personnel from such high-stakes, high-stress jobs in the first year of a new presidency as reflective of the realities of private-sector life. You get it done, or you’re gone. For most Americans who don’t draw a paycheck from the federal government, that is their daily reality, and they see no reason to expect less from their government, or from President Trump.

Senate Dem says colleagues are “reconsidering” support for Pompeo ahead of State Dept nomination hearing https://t.co/N1NvwWP1Ag pic.twitter.com/YyWkNdm7LK

— The Hill (@thehill) March 13, 2018

But amidst all this shuffling, infighting and firing, there are some clear bright spots — and the elevation of Mike Pompeo to secretary of State is one of them. Pompeo in charge of our diplomats will be good for the Trump administration, and for the country. He has the background to excel in the role, is aligned with Trump on policy and, just as important to his success, the now-former CIA director has won Trump’s respect.

One of the consistent knocks against Trump’s senior government choices is that professional and academic pedigree has been placed far below loyalty on his hiring-priority list. With Pompeo, Trump gets both. A West Point and Harvard Law-educated combat veteran, Pompeo has run businesses and political campaigns. Add this to his short (but well-regarded) tenure as CIA director, and anti-Trump elites will have a hard time sneering at the new secretary of State’s resume.

On policy, Pompeo is clearly a better fit for Trump than was his predecessor. North Korea and Iran — the two most important foreign policy challenges facing Trump in 2018 — are areas where Pompeo is closely aligned with the commander in chief. This is critical. Given that Trump has broken with the conventional wisdom on direct talks with Kim Jong Un, and is looking to turn up the heat on Iran, he will need a chief diplomat who shares his vision of the world and America’s role in it.

Schumer: I’m not actively urging Dems to oppose Pompeo or CIA director nominations https://t.co/9HUyMAUS4M pic.twitter.com/sH6X44yCDV

— The Hill (@thehill) March 13, 2018

A president who wants to disrupt the ossified echo chamber of policymaking at the State Department needs a secretary who is willing to take those risks alongside him.

While Pompeo’s policy focus will be primarily outside U.S. borders, he is also well equipped to handle the domestic political scrum here at home. Everyone on Trump’s team or tied to his administration is a target in what is increasingly a zero-sum political fight. Russia policy in particular will be scrutinized through a partisan lens. As the Mueller probe grinds on without end in sight, the new secretary of State will have to hold Russia accountable for its transgressions and push back on any notion of Trump as the Kremlin’s candidate.

Pompeo will have to pursue foreign policies that clash with the D.C. intelligentsia’s preferred approach, and that will no doubt ruffle feathers. It will also mean we can expect a stream of leaks to the media about discontent and ineptitude at the State Department, rooted much more in partisan animus than actual underperformance.

Nikki Haley: Replacing Tillerson with Pompeo was a “great decision” by Trump https://t.co/XYUBnJUPfv pic.twitter.com/6Pq8dZvulo

— The Hill (@thehill) March 13, 2018

This will be another aspect of Pompeo’s role for which he is well suited. Yes, he will be in charge of the State Department, but he’s also going to have to give it a thorough scrubbing. Recent reports that morale at State Department headquarters is so low, some “seasoned diplomats” have been “cry(ing) in their cars” are indicative of a sentiment among that workforce that needs to change. Civil servants don’t have to like the president, but they can either work for him or resign. Pompeo is just the right fellow to deliver that message, with all necessary tact and firmness, to whatever disenchanted Hillary Clinton supporters are walking the hallways in Foggy Bottom.

Some of Trump’s most ambitious initiatives are on the world stage, and much of the heavy lifting will fall to his chief diplomat. Whether it is confronting China with trade tariffs, putting North Korea on a path to denuclearization, or taking the fight to Jihadists around the globe, Pompeo will have his hands full. But both sides of the political aisle should take some comfort from knowing that Pompeo is widely regarded as intelligent, well prepared and fiercely patriotic, even by those who disagree with his politics.

To be successful as Trump’s secretary of State, he will need all of that and more.

Buck Sexton is a political commentator, national security analyst and host of “The Buck Sexton Show.” He is a former CIA officer in the Counterterrorism Center, appears frequently on Fox News Channel and CNN and has been a guest radio show host for Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. Follow Buck on Twitter @BuckSexton.