Senate Confirms Mike Pompeo As Trump’s Next Secretary Of State

WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo as secretary of state on Thursday despite lingering objections from Democrats who’ve questioned his record of hawkish policy positions and past controversial statements about minority groups. The split vote represents the political scrutiny Pompeo is likely to encounter as he moves from the CIA to the State Department, where he’ll the simultaneous challenges of reinvigorating an agency beset by flagging morale and answering for a president who is prone to impulsiveness. [Trump’s secretary of state nominee faces rare opposition from Senate panel] Pompeo, who grew close to President Donald Trump as his CIA director, takes over at State as the United States faces a host of foreign policy challenges.