Pompeo Plotting State Department Exit With Political Ambitions in Mind - Reports
Mike Pompeo may be plotting to leave his post as US Secretary of State since ongoing White House chaos may hurt his long-term political ambitions, Time magazine reported on Thursday, citing anonymous Republican sources
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2019) Mike Pompeo may be plotting to leave his post as US Secretary of State since ongoing White House chaos may hurt his long-term political ambitions, Time magazine reported on Thursday, citing anonymous Republican sources.
The publication's sources claim that Pompeo is set on running for the US Senate from the state of Kansas and had originally planned to resign next spring. However, the public impeachment hearings may accelerate the move as Pompeo fears being implicated in the scandal.
In the article, Time also highlighted a growing rift between US President Donald Trump and Pompeo's office, with the president allegedly blaming the secretary of state for hiring William Taylor, who is not friendly to the Trump administration, as ambassador to Ukraine.
Last week, Taylor was the first witness to testify in the public impeachment hearings into Trump's Ukraine machinations.
His hearing revealed new information on internal communications between Trump and US diplomats in Europe.
Pompeo this week refused to defend US diplomats in Ukraine against accusations of bias and disloyalty from Trump and his allies.
A source in Kansas' Republican circles said that Pompeo's fears may have economic roots as well. Pompeo stands to lose supporters if Trump's economic policies, namely the trade war with China, end up hurting Kansan farmers. The highly agricultural state may be the part of the country that is most sensitive to trade instabilities, and a spat with China can turn opinions against Trump.
Department of State officials told the magazine that Pompeo is steadfast in his diplomatic work and threw off suggestions that his focus lies elsewhere.