Irresponsible Stupidity': Rove Sounds Off on Som
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on Some Dems Opposing Pompeo Nomination
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Karl Rove said Wednesday that the decision by some Democrats to oppose the nomination of CIA Director Mike Pompeo to be secretary of state is "irresponsible stupidity."
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said he will vote against the nomination partly because Pompeo did not disclose his recent trip to North Korea during his Senate confirmation hearing last week.
“I believe our nation’s top diplomat must be forthright, and more critically his past sentiments did not reflect our nation’s values and are not acceptable for our nation’s top diplomat,” Menendez said, with Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) also joining in opposition.
Rove said he hopes Menendez and Cardin rethink their positions, especially because Pompeo was confirmed as CIA director last year with broad support and is obviously qualified.
"This is not a good place for Washington to be," said Rove, who served as White House deputy chief of staff under George W. Bush.
He said Barack Obama's cabinet nominees were largely approved of by Republicans despite political disagreements. Rove said the opposition stems from an "impulse of rage against President Trump," rather than a true objection to his qualifications.
Trump offered strong backing for Pompeo in remarks Wednesday, saying, "I think Mike Pompeo is extraordinary. I think he'll go down as truly a great secretary of state."
Watch the discussion above and see Marc Thiessen's analysis of the Pompeo-Kim meeting.