Senate confirms Mike Pompeo as CIA director, but Chuck Schumer lost credibility for reneging on ‘the deal’
The Senate confirmed Representative Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas) to lead the CIA in the closest confirmation vote for the Trump cabinet members with the two Democratic Senators from Connecticut delayed by the weather.
With a vote of 66-32 and Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy’s votes still outstanding, Pompeo will indeed move forward as CIA director. The backstory is the political drama surrounding Pompeo’s confirmation.
In a deal between parties, Republicans reportedly agreed to push back the start of Pompeo’s confirmation hearing by a day; in return, the Democrats were to allow the Senate to vote on the congressman on Inauguration Day – that obviously did not happen.
Sen. Charles Schumer
Image/US Government
Like Hugh Hewitt stated on his show Monday and Tuesday, the partisan sniping makes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York look as though he reneged on the “deal.”
The Weekly Standard summarizes the move in their article which states “Schumber broke his word” in the title.
“According to six sources familiar with the negotiations over Pompeo’s confirmation, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told Republican leaders that he would allow Pompeo to be confirmed by voice vote on Inauguration Day, along with two other Trump nominees who have national security responsibilities. But Schumer broke his promise, these sources say, and offered an insulting excuse for having done so,” the article summarizes.
“Trust is important, even between adversaries,” says Senator John Cornyn, one of the Republicans involved in the discussions. “And that trust has been damaged.”
“According to sources familiar with the discussions, Schumer asked his Republican colleagues to delay Pompeo’s hearing for one day. ‘Democrats asked that the hearing be moved so that six hearings did not occur on one day,” says a senior Democratic senate aide. “That many cabinet hearings in a single day had only happened once in American history, and it was an unfair schedule to senators on both sides. Republicans accommodated that request.'”
“Republicans agreed to delay Pompeo, whose team was happy to have an extra day to prepare. But the Republicans had a condition. If we agree to push back Pompeo’s hearing for a day, they told Schumer, you must agree to include him in the group of national security officials who will be confirmed by a voice vote on Inauguration Day, January 20. According to these sources, Schumer agreed…”
Oops.
