Ernst Supports Director Pompeo to be Secretary of State

WASHINGTON – Today, the United States Senate confirmed Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo to be Secretary of State. Prior to the vote, the Iowa senator delivered remarks from the Senate floor urging her colleagues to join her in supporting Director Pompeo to be our nation’s top diplomat.

Watch Senator Ernst’s full remarks here or by clicking on the image below.

“Mr. President,

“I rise today in support of the President’s nomination of Director Mike Pompeo to serve as Secretary of State.

“Director Pompeo has a very long record of public service that has prepared him for this very, very important positon.

“Let’s start at the beginning, Director Pompeo was top of his class at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and he served honorably in the United States Army. He is also a graduate of Harvard Law School.

“In Congress, Director Pompeo was a leader on issues of national security and foreign relations.

“And then finally, and most recently, as Director of the CIA, Director Pompeo has been a successful leader in the world’s best intelligence profession, to work and resolve some of our nation’s most sensitive and difficult problems.

“Now I’ve heard on the floor of the Senate here recently a number of my colleagues that have called into question whether he should serve as our nation’s top diplomat.

“He served in the military, he has served as Director of the CIA, and what I want to do is go back to the time that he spent at the United States Military Academy at West Point. And what I would like to do is just remind the body that in the military we serve in many missions, but one of them does include diplomacy.

“Now as the President of the Senate understands, that as military members, whether you’re a Marine or a soldier, that often times during conflicts, you stand shoulder to shoulder with members of other countries.

“You must have an understanding of the cultural affects and the cultural differences between our nations, and you work to resolve problems.

“Whether it’s with the indigenous populations or whether it’s within the military ranks, we serve as diplomats.

“Now at West Point, I know that Director Pompeo learned this lesson very well. Many of us, whether you go through a military academy or whether you are going through a reserve officer training corps program at a university like I did at Iowa State, you learn about, what we call, the instruments of national power.

“And those instruments of national power are called ‘D.I.M.E’. It’s an acronym D-I-M-E.

“ ‘D’ stands for diplomacy. We learn that again as members of the military and as officers in our nation’s military. So diplomacy.

“The second thing, the ‘I’, is information. The ‘M’, of course, is military and military action. And the ‘E’ stands for economic actions, such as sanctions.

“But within the realm of diplomacy, what we are taught is that we work with ambassadors, we work through embassies. We are taught about the realm of negotiations, and treaties, and various policies that affect different nations around the globe.

“We’re engaging in international forums. And again working in the defense space, of course, we have many opportunities to engage with leaders from other countries.

“Diplomacy, it is the very basis of the instruments of national power that we all learn.

“So I know that Director Pompeo in his capacity, whether he was serving at the CIA or way back many years to when he served in the United States Army, quite admirably, and back at the academy when he was first taught those instruments of national power, or D.I.M.E., that he is well-versed in working with many nations in very, very difficult circumstances.

“So again, Director Pompeo has a very long record of public service.

“Now, Director Pompeo, also has very strong relationships and he values those relationships.

“His relationship with Secretary of Defense Mattis will prove invaluable as he works to ensure peace through strength. Additionally, I am confident he will inspire and lead the men and women of our State Department to achieve results for our nation, and those results will be centered around diplomacy.

“Director Pompeo understands the threats that we face as a nation every day.

“During a time when the threats against the United States continue to grow around the globe, it is important, important, for President Trump to have his full diplomatic and national security team in place.  

“We must do this. Diplomacy, diplomacy.

“Director Pompeo is also the right person to serve as our top diplomat. He will rise to meet the challenges and foster those relationships that we need around the world to keep our nation free, secure, and prosperous.

“Again, I will go back to the instruments of national power, D-I-M-E, the first is always diplomacy. Director Pompeo understands that and I’m glad that we as a body will be taking up his confirmation vote today.

“I would urge my colleagues to support this eminently qualified man as our next Secretary of State.

“Thank you Mr. President. I yield the floor and notice the absence of a quorum.”