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The Weekly GAB Friday, April 13
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition | www.usglc.org
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USGLC in the News

FOREIGN POLICY
Pompeo Gets a Grilling on the Hill |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=EMl0xn7YJkm97c_4MBjLvQ

Robbie Gramer

Some senators aimed to pry out assurances from Pompeo that he would
quickly fill scores of empty posts in Foggy Bottom and restore the
State Department after 14 months of forced resignations and hiring
freezes that came to define former Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson's legacy. "You have got to have really good,
solid people around you to be able to make the bureaucracy
work," said Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), who is widely expected
to lead the foreign relations committee when the current chairman,
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), steps down. Since Trump came into office,
the State Department has lost 50 percent of its top leadership and is
promoting 50 percent fewer diplomats into the senior foreign service
ranks, according to data compiled by the U.S. Global Leadership
Coalition. Dozens of ambassador posts, including to South Korea and
Turkey, remain empty.

BLOOMBERG

Pompeo on the Spot to Define Trump's Strategy in Confirmation
Hearing |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=H5Ks9LtFNf09ceaeyhb5gQ

Nick Wadhams and Laura Litvan

One of Pompeo's first tasks would be to fill jobs left vacant
during Tillerson's tenure. The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
estimates that only two of seven under secretaries and 14 of 22
assistant secretaries have been nominated or confirmed as of March 23.
There are 37 ambassador jobs without nominations in countries
including Turkey and South Korea. Those gaps, as well as
Tillerson's firing, have contributed to a freeze in
decision-making at the State Department, where acting assistant
secretaries don't feel empowered to make decisions and
subordinates don't have anyone to approve their work.

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Mike Pompeo, Trump's Pick for Top Diplomat, to Face Senate
Confirmation Hearing as International Crises Mount |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=v7Kaqt0BZCN-BG9yd7X4fw

Tracy Wilkinson

If confirmed, the CIA director and Republican former member of
Congress will take over a State Department that has been badly
depleted by senior staff departures and a shrinking budget under
President Trump. As of March 23, only two of seven under-secretary of
State positions and 14 of 22 assistant secretary of State posts had
been nominated or confirmed, according to the U.S. Global Leadership
Coalition, a foreign-policy advocacy group that tracks administration
appointments. In addition, 37 ambassador posts remain open without
nominations, including hot spots such as South Korea, Turkey and
Jordan.

FOX NEWS

Gen. Zinni, Adm. Stavridis: What Pompeo Must Do First if Confirmed as
Secretary of State

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=m-ajOjsNmwbRbc2SQlSBhA

Admiral James Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and
General Anthony Zinni, former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central
Command

But Pompeo is in the hot seat, because the State Department he hopes
to lead is a shadow of its former self, as a recent letter signed by
over 200 former diplomats attests. Even the best soldier depends on a
battalion, and the best sailor credits crew and fleet for success. To
succeed where Secretary of State Rex Tillerson fell short, Pompeo must
first end the proposals to gut our diplomacy and development budget.
Pompeo needs to stop the hollowing out of the State Department and
U.S. Agency for International Development. He must put civilian power
back on the battlefield of American foreign policy to keep our nation
safe and prosperous.

Who's in the News

FOX NEWS
Warships, Aircraft Carriers Head to Mideast |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=wpAdGPbvD_b_49HqDW6C1g

[Video]

Lt. General Richard Newton, former USAF Assistant Vice Chief of Staff:
"But one thing also that's very important to consider, as General Joe
Votel, the Commander of U.S. forces in the MidEast, of U.S. Central
Command, said last week, we've got to look at what's ahead of us -
that includes all instruments of U.S. national power - diplomatic,
economic, financial, and certainly military. We've got to allow...our
tools, civil programs to provide for stabilization and so forth. It's
very important that we follow on with this effort, not just what's
going to happen near term but long term as well."

Pompeo Confirmation Hearing

THE WASHINGTON POST

Despite Concerns, Mike Pompeo's Confirmation Is on the Fast
Track |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=v_a50gFO8PDYqXI5wtNzKQ

Josh Rogin

In a normal environment, CIA Director Mike Pompeo's
controversial record would mean a long and contentious Senate
confirmation process. But the sheer urgency of the moment is pushing
all sides to realize that the State Department needs a leader, and
that Pompeo, though imperfect, needs to get started as soon as
possible. Pompeo's Thursday hearing before the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee comes faster than Democrats wanted. Most Democrats
refused to meet him until this week, insisting he complete his
paperwork first. But over the past three days, more than a dozen have
sat down with him, realizing the confirmation train was leaving the
station with or without them.

NBC NEWS
Mike Pompeo Pushes Back on 'Hawk' Label at Confirmation Hearing |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=2W9s8zYsmNeR6tSrD7rUKQ

Rebecca Shabad

CIA Director Mike Pompeo pushed back Thursday at critics who have
labeled him hawkish, saying at his confirmation hearing for secretary
of state that he would put diplomacy first. Pompeo acknowledged how
"demoralizing" the diplomatic corps has found the current staffing
situation at the State Department, which has been operating with a
slew of vacant positions. "There's no one like someone who
understands the value of diplomacy and the terror and tragedy that is
war like someone who has served in uniform," said Pompeo, who
served in the Army and is a graduate of West Point. "It's
the last resort. It must always be so."

Development & Diplomacy

FOREIGN POLICY
Mapped: 38 Ambassadorships Remain Empty |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=3k-pyuy-C05odmMhvs4gqQ

Robbie Gramer

Well over a year into U.S. President Donald Trump's tenure, the
State Department is in disarray. Former Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson embarked on a zealous drive to reform the department as the
White House proposed steep budget cuts. But what he called a
much-needed push to trim and streamline a vast bureaucracy, many
critics saw as a hollowing out of the U.S. diplomatic corps. Dozens of
key positions, including 38 ambassadorships, remain unfilled -
leaving the delicate art of diplomacy in too few hands with too many
world crises at the boiling point.

DEVEX

Congressional Hearing Signals Support for New Development Finance
Corporation |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=eYd1uzyS7UCCU2MLL42R4Q

Adva Saldinger

The prospect of a new U.S. development finance institution is closer
to reality, after a promising House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing
on the subject Wednesday and a Trump administration statement in
support of the BUILD Act, which proposed the creation of a new U.S.
development finance institution. Ray Washburne, the CEO of the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation, responded to mostly friendly
questions about the new BUILD Act legislation from members of the
committee, all of whom expressed support for a new development finance
corporation.

Politics & Foreign Policy

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Vice President Pence Departs for South America Trip in Trump's Place

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=jBJVPUIgYz4qbr7aDUe6sQ

Alfonso Serrano, a native of Chile, has written extensively about
Latin America

Vice President Mike Pence may be taking President Trump's place
at the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, on Friday, but the vacuum
left by the United States' steady retreat from the region was
filled, much earlier, by China. Latin America is now the
second-largest destination for Chinese investment, after Asia. China
is the top trading partner for three of Latin America's biggest
economies: Brazil, Chile and Peru. Chinese influence is evident
throughout the region, from highway construction in Ecuador to port
projects in Panama and a planned fiber optic cable running from Chile
to China. China's soft power is perhaps most visible at the
southern edge of Argentina, in Santa Cruz province.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Trump Talks TPP, but Trade Partners Say, Not So Fast |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=-PF-C1yV0qpRUhGmW-ig8A

Rob Taylor, Chieko Tsuneoka, and Jake Maxwell Watts

President Donald Trump is talking again about getting the U.S. into a
Pacific Rim trade agreement. But any serious effort to do so would be
fraught with difficulty, not least because Mr. Trump is demanding a
"substantially better" deal than what Washington got two
years ago. After the U.S. dropped out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
last year, the remaining 11 nations struck their own TPP deal, and
sealed it at a March ceremony in Chile. Each country is now moving
ahead with ratification. Mr. Trump's suggestion Thursday that
the U.S. might want to join after all left many nations concerned that
the process could get disrupted. "We've got a deal.
It's a good deal. Eleven countries have signed up and
we're firm on the deal," said Australian Trade Minister
Steve Ciobo. "I can't see all that being thrown open now
to appease the United States, but we would welcome the U.S. coming
back to the table."

POLITICO

Trump's Push to Redo $1.3T Spending Bill He Signed Sparks GOP
Revolt |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=3wEVRVIMw-FixyUgns0kEw

Sarah Ferris and Kaitlyn Burton

A regretful President Donald Trump wants to roll back spending in a
massive omnibus bill he signed into law, but Republicans who helped
craft the legislation are in open revolt. "My attitude is, your
word is your bond," House Appropriations Chairman Rodney
Frelinghuysen said, in his first public comments on the Trump plan.
Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) is among more than a half-dozen appropriators
who have voiced skepticism about the Trump administration's
proposal to cancel billions in spending. Nearly all said they feared
that it could erode the GOP's bargaining power in future budget
talks. The skeptics included the newly appointed Senate Appropriations
chief, Richard Shelby, who met with Trump on Wednesday. "We need
to look at what we agreed on with the other side and keep our word,
keep our agreements," the Alabama Republican told POLITICO just
before his one-on-one with Trump.

CNN
Deputy National Security Adviser Nadia Schadlow Resigns |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=eBExp--SEqZ3YOQ8EgU8uw

Jeremy Diamond and Jenna McLaughlin

Nadia Schadlow, the US deputy national security adviser for strategy,
has resigned and will leave her position at the end of the month,
multiple administration officials told CNN. Schadlow is the third
senior national security official to resign or be pushed out in the
wake of national security adviser John Bolton's entrée to the White
House. She submitted her resignation on Tuesday, according to a copy
of her resignation letter obtained by CNN, and a senior White House
official said she will remain in her role until April 27 to assist
with the transition.

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Mattis Expresses Caution on Imminent Strike Against Syria |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=AnBgB34mK_r8J_9pJoqO3Q

Helene Cooper, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, and Eileen Sullivan

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis took pains on Thursday to walk back
President Trump's threats of an imminent strike on Syria,
reflecting mounting concerns at the Pentagon that a concerted bombing
campaign could escalate into a wider conflict between Russia, Iran and
the West. A Thursday afternoon meeting is scheduled of the
president's top national security advisers, during which Mr.
Mattis is expected to urge caution and consideration of a wider
strategy. Speaking Thursday morning before the House Armed Services
Committee, Mr. Mattis said that retaliation for the suspected chemical
weapons attack had to be balanced against the threat of a wider war.


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