“Maximum Pressure” Is Working: Senate Confirms New Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell

In a major victory for U.S. diplomacy, the U.S. Senate has confirmed Mike Pompeo to be Secretary of State and Ric Grenell to be U.S. Ambassador to Germany. Mr. Pompeo was confirmed by a vote of 57-42 and Mr. Grenell was confirmed by a vote of 56-42.

As we have previously reported, these two critical nominations have been stonewalled in the U.S. Senate for far too long.  Mr. Pompeo’s nomination had been pending for 44 days. While that number might not seem outrageous on its face, the critical nature of the position made it extremely urgent that the Senate grant a speedy confirmation. With numerous foreign affairs matters on the horizon—including negotiations with North Korea, with whom Mr. Pompeo has already engaged in person—it was imperative to fill the position expeditiously.

Mr. Grenell’s nomination had been pending for a whopping 233 days. In fact, the position of U.S. Ambassador to Germany—a critical diplomatic post dealing with one of the most important allies of United States—has been vacant for the entire Trump Administration. This delay was entirely unacceptable, but today it has finally been overcome.

These two confirmations come at a particularly important time for U.S. foreign policy. With important issues on the table in North Korea, Iran, China, Russia, Israel, and at the United Nations—just to name a few—it is essential that the United States have a full diplomatic team on the field.

Moreover, both the Secretary of State, and even the Ambassador to German, have a critical role to play as we fight to free American Pastor Brunson from unjust and wrongful imprisonment in Turkey because of his Christian faith.

We are grateful to all of you who raised your voice in support of these nominations, to Leader McConnell for scheduling the votes, and to each U.S. Senator who voted for confirmation.

This is an important victory that each of you helped achieve. Now it is time for Secretary of State Pompeo and Ambassador Ric Grenell to engage the important diplomatic work set before them. Finally, we urge the Senate to continue expeditiously working through the enormous backlog of qualified candidates for key diplomatic, agency, and judicial positions.