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Dear Board of Directors,

Tillerson out. Pompeo in. As our Chair Dan Glickman says “KS-4 wins again” – and hopefully so will America.

About Pompeo. The USGLC has had a nice relationship with Pompeo over the years – he attended our Impact 2016 South Carolina event as a surrogate for Marco Rubio (shh, don’t tell the Trump folks) and was strong on global development. I still remember talking with him that day – and he told me how much he enjoyed the opportunity to focus on foreign policy, since he wasn’t on any key committees.

Because of that event, we included him in one of our salon dinners on food security and he became a strong voice on that issue, and a more consistent vote on foreign assistance. Many of his former staffers are good friends, including his former Chief of Staff, Jim Richardson, who is currently at USAID.

Hill Reaction. Not surprising, the Democrats have used the opportunity to blast Tillerson for “hollowing out State Department” and made clear that grave damage has already been done to our diplomatic corps. Some Democrats have already come out in opposition to Pompeo’s nomination and raised concerns about the timing, given the North Korea talks. Senator Corker has called for hearings in April and Pompeo has already received praise by many of his former GOP colleagues.

USGLC Statement. Below is our statement, seeking to “hug” all the good stuff Pompeo has said on our issues, in hopes he will embrace a more positive vision in his new role. We call on him to support the development and diplomacy professionals and protect international affairs resources. While we are not confident he will make immediate steps to change the budget dynamics, many who know him believe he will change the personnel dynamics immediately.

One last (unrelated) item to share: In a quiet announcement yesterday – the hiring freeze at USAID was finally lifted. This is wonderful news.

More soon.

Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2018

USGLC CEO Congratulates Mike Pompeo on nomination to State

WASHINGTON – The USGLC's President and CEO, Liz Schrayer, released the following statement on the nomination of Mike Pompeo to Secretary of State:

The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition congratulates Mike Pompeo on his nomination by President Trump to be the next Secretary of State. At a time of rising global turbulence, this is the right time for a chief diplomat who fundamentally gets that the military alone cannot keep America safe. A tank commander at the end of the Cold War, he understands better than most that it takes development and diplomacy alongside defense to advance American global leadership. With his Kansas roots, he knows that addressing the nexus of famine and food insecurity is a vital U.S. interest.

We call on the next Secretary of State to recognize and strengthen the indispensable role of our diplomats and development professionals – and protect the resources America needs to advance our interests around the world. We urge the Senate’s quick consideration.

Mike Pompeo’s Background on Development and Diplomacy

On U.S. global leadership:
As CIA Director, Pompeo recently observed that “It’s often the case that in a dangerous world, America is the only country that can present the leadership that can solve many, many problems.”

As a member of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission during his time in Congress, he spoke out strongly on behalf of human rights and international religious freedom, once saying that “I will continue to advocate for a foreign policy focused on our long-held principles of advancing freedom and justice that also upholds the national interests of the United States. America must lead to keep Americans safe, and keeping Americans safe is my constitutional responsibility. I also remain a staunch supporter of human rights and religious freedom worldwide.”

On global food security:
Pompeo has been a leading voice on the importance of responding to food insecurity and its impact on America’s national security. At a 2016 USGLC event in South Carolina, he praised America’s leadership on global food security in the battle against terrorism, calling it “another important issue to keep America safe, that we don’t have famine and starvation causing…folks who want to put on bomb vests instead of engage in the American, or global, global chain of commerce.” At a follow-up USGLC event on food security, Pompeo commended U.S. land grant universities for their research and development efforts that have helped farming communities around the world.

On the battle against ISIS:
In a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt referring to the tools necessary in the battle against ISIS, he noted the importance of leveraging all aspects of American power, saying “there’s a State Department function here. There’s an Armed Services, Department of Defense function. But there is an enormous intelligence piece to this so that we can both find and fix the enemy… making sure we identify friends inside the region that can help us there.”

On opportunities in Africa:
“There are real opportunities in Africa as well, places where I think we can – along with our partners – begin to develop a set of relationships. There’s a big counter-terrorism threat there, one that we’ve done a mediocre job at addressing, and I think we can – if we present a more organized solution – we can come up with some very, very good outcomes.”

On the Yemen humanitarian crisis:
“The President was very concerned about the humanitarian issues taking place in Yemen, the risk of cholera and the starvation that was taking place and he kept pushing us about what was really taking place, what was the real layout, what was happening in the port, and what was possible given the configuration of forces on the ground. And he pushed us for a couple days until we were able to deliver him a satisfactory picture where he then could make a decision about which of our friends to call to try to make sure that problem was at least diminished or mitigated.”

On International Affairs resources:
Early in his time in Congress, Pompeo voted to cut funding for certain international programs, but over time he built an increasingly supportive record. He supported legislation such as Global Food Security Act of 2016, the Zika Response Appropriations Act of 2016, and the Fiscal Year 2014 State Department Authorization. He also co-sponsored the Reach Every Mother and Child Act.

During his time at the CIA he stated, “We work closely with the State Department, nearly every place that we operate, and it’s important that they have the resources to do that... “With respect to the budget fights, I’m someone who came from the policy world that always thought government could do better even with a little less of money and I still firmly believe that not only at the State Department, but at my agency too.”