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UPDATED: Pompeo’s Anti-LGBT Views Just Lost Him (Another) Critical Vote – Becoming Secretary of State Looks Unlikely

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Editor’s note: See update below.

President Donald Trump’s pick to become the next Secretary of State is in trouble. Right now, thanks to a Senator from New Hampshire,  Mike Pompeo may not have enough votes to be confirmed.

During his bombshell confirmation hearing last week CIA Director Pompeo revealed not only is he opposed to same-sex marriage for religious reasons, he refused to say if he believes sex between, say, a happily married same-sex couple, is “perversion.” Asked by Democratic Senator Cory Booker, Pompeo refused to answer.

New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen Tuesday evening announced her opposition to Pompeo becoming Secretary of State. She cited his anti-LGBT views, along with his views on Muslims and women’s rights.

“After careful consideration, I cannot support Director Mike Pompeo’s nomination to serve as Secretary of State,” Shaheen said in a statement.

Shaheen went on to say, “his previous roles are fundamentally different from that of Secretary of State, who represents American values around the world. The Secretary of State is a policy-making position and I continue to have deep concerns regarding Mr. Pompeo’s past statements and policy views, particularly in regards to the LGBTQ community, American Muslims and women’s reproductive rights. For these reasons, I have concluded that I cannot support Director Pompeo to lead the State Department at this critical time.”

Shaheen is one of 21 Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee. Pompeo would need 11 votes on to advance Pompeo’s nomination to the full Senate for a vote. As The Hill notes, Republican Rand Paul also has stated he will oppose Pompeo.

Democratic Senators Bob Menendez, Chris Coons, and Ben Cardin are reportedly undecided.

The Hill went as far as saying Pompeo “lacks votes for recommendation.”

Assuming all Democrats stand together in opposition, with Rand Paul voting no, Pompeo only has 10 votes and would be reported as not recommended.

Pompeo also has another problem. Even if one Democrat moves to support his nomination, Sen. Jeff Flake could block it:

Right now, Pompeo’s chances of becoming Secretary of State are very, very, slim.

Of course, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has demonstrated he has no qualms on destroying Senate rules and tradition to get his way (Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is one result of McConnell’s scorched earth politics) it’s possible he could advance Pompeo’s nomination. He could add a Republican to the committee. He could twist Rand Paul’s arm, forcing him to vote yes. He could easily demand the full Senate vote without a favorable committee vote. And then he would need a simple majority, which would be challenging, if not impossible – unless Senators change their votes.

Anything could happen.

But right now, chances are good Mike Pompeo may not become Secretary of State.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: 04.1818:
One of the three remaining undecided Democrats has announced he will not support Pompeo for Secretary of State:

 

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‘Code Red’: Newsom Tells Europe They’ve Been Played by ‘T-Rex’ Trump

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California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom issued what he described as a “code red” warning over President Donald Trump, citing what he characterized as a “wrecking ball” approach to the global order.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Governor Newsom told reporters that Europeans have been “played,” and that Trump has been “playing folks for fools.”

Calling the entire situation “embarrassing,” Newsom rejected the idea that what is happening between Trump and world leaders is diplomacy.

“This is diplomacy with Donald Trump? He’s a T-rex,” Newsom said, describing the president as a vicious dinosaur. “You mate with him, or he devours you. One of the other.”

READ MORE: ‘25th Amendment Territory’: Critics Warn Trump Impeachment Is ‘Not Enough’

Newsom warned that Europe is still playing by the old set of rules, while arguing that in actuality, “It’s the law of the jungle, it’s the rule of Don. And I hope it’s dawning on the world what we’re up against. I mean, this is serious. This guy is — he’s not mad. He is very intentional. But he’s unmoored. And he’s unhinged.”

Asked what Trump’s goal is, Newsom replied, “The goal is whatever he wants it to be. The goal is the world in his image. He’s a narcissist.”

Newsom then chastised European leaders, asking why they don’t do “what they’re saying in private?”

“Why don’t they just simply do what they know is right? Everybody’s talking behind his back. They laughing, and meanwhile they’re sucking up to him. It’s embarrassing.”

“This is not diplomacy,” the governor charged. “This is stupidity.”

READ MORE: Europe Divorcing America Now Seen as ‘Inevitable’: Report

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‘Is Canada Next?’ Ex-Trump Official Says Greenland Threat Worse Than Imagined

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A former top Trump official is warning that President Donald Trump’s threats to Greenland are worse than could be imagined, and wonders if he will stop there or target another close U.S. ally, like Canada, next.

John Bolton, who served as Trump’s National Security Adviser during the first Trump administration, told NewsNation that the “damage that Donald Trump is doing to America’s reputation, to the trust and good faith and reliance, our European allies and friends around the world have on us is just impossible to state.”

He called it “extraordinary” to “threaten the invasion of a NATO ally, to seize by force a territory from a democracy.”

“The impact in Europe,” he said, “you cannot calculate how bad this is for us.”

READ MORE: ‘Dictators’ Tea Party’: Trump’s Board of Peace Ridiculed as New Details Revealed

Trump has ramped up his threats to acquire Greenland, and has refused to commit to not using military force to take control of the semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Bolton added, “if you want to rip up the NATO alliance, if you want to convince every other American ally around the world — Japan, South Korea, Australia — that we can’t be trusted, go ahead and use military force against Denmark in Greenland.”

“Go ahead and threaten your best friends and allies with retaliatory tariffs, because they just won’t give in,” he continued. “This is so counterproductive for the United States that it’s gonna take years to repair the damage that Donald Trump is doing, and none of it will do anything for the security of Greenland or the NATO alliance.”

“Well,” he added, “consider what it means for the United States to invade an ally like Denmark. Is Canada next? Shall we invade Great Britain? How about Spain?”

Bolton asked, “what is it that gives Trump the idea that the only way to deal with one of the friendliest countries in the world toward America, for 250 years, is to threaten military force?”

READ MORE: ‘25th Amendment Territory’: Critics Warn Trump Impeachment Is ‘Not Enough’

 

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‘Dictators’ Tea Party’: Trump’s Board of Peace Ridiculed as New Details Revealed

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The rollout for President Donald Trump’s new Board of Peace, which has drawn controversy and is facing resistance, does not appear to be going smoothly. The American president wants national leaders who join to donate at least $1 billion within the first year to become a permanent member. According to reports, Trump would be chairman for life, the organization could be filled with authoritarian leaders, and it is being seen as a possible rival to the United Nations.

Already, French President Emmanuel Macron, who appears to be leading the charge against Trump in Europe, reportedly has declined to join.

“The body was originally conceived as part of the U.S. president’s push to create a new governance framework for the shattered Palestinian enclave in the wake of Israel’s devastating two-year offensive against Hamas,” The Financial Times reported.

“The Board of Peace has had a rough landing,” reported Bloomberg News’ UK political editor Alex Wickham, noting that “it’s been criticized by Israel, questioned by Europe and has Russia’s friends celebrating.”

READ MORE: ‘25th Amendment Territory’: Critics Warn Trump Impeachment Is ‘Not Enough’

“World leaders were blindsided and bewildered by Trump’s demand they pay $1 billion for permanent membership, sources say,” Wickham noted. “European allies are working to modify the terms and coordinate a response, sources say. They are trying to persuade Arab leaders to help lobby Trump for changes.”

As chairman, Trump would have the ability to add or remove member nations, veto the board’s decisions and cast tie-breaking votes, and create or dissolve committees.

Critics are blasting Trump’s proposed Board of Peace.

Daily Mail UK columnist Andrew Neil said it will probably be Trump’s “most radical step yet to replace the post-WW2 global order. It will also be quite the dictators’ tea party. Putin, Lukashenko (Belarus tyrant) and the dictator of Kazakhstan have all been asked to join!!”

Fox News’ Jessica Tarlov remarked, “The board of peace stars dictators apparently.”

The Wall Street Journal’s chief foreign-affairs correspondent, Yaroslav Trofimov, observed, “Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ looks very much like a plan to replace the UN Security Council with an imperial court of vassals in which he is chairman for life, even after leaving the White House, with veto over every decision and the sole right to designate a successor. And a $1 billion fee for aspiring permanent members.”

Former chief White House ethics attorney Richard Painter wrote, “Almost 75,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in this war, and now we are auctioning off seats on a Gaza ‘Board of Peace’. For a Middle East peace policy, this is pathetic.”

READ MORE: Europe Divorcing America Now Seen as ‘Inevitable’: Report

 

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