WASHINGTON _ Sen. Rand Paul, after several conversations with President Donald Trump, Monday switched his position and threw his support to Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo.
"Having received assurances from President Trump and Director Pompeo that he agrees with the President on these important issues, I have decided to support his nomination to be our next Secretary of State," Paul, R-Ky., tweeted.
Paul was the only Republican who had opposed Pompeo, but Trump had lobbied the senator hard.
Trump called Paul last week and urged him to meet with Pompeo, telling reporters he was sure the Kentucky senator "won't let me down." But Paul, who last month said he would do whatever he could to block Pompeo, as well as Trump's pick for the CIA, appeared unmoved after the meeting in his office.
Before he met with Pompeo, Paul told reporters he believed that Pompeo was more hawkish than Trump. He said Trump has repeatedly called the Iraq War a mistake, has supported ending the war in Afghanistan and wants U.S. troops to leave Syria.
Pompeo, he said, has "been more of the 'Let's stay forever in the Middle East, let's stay forever in Afghanistan.'"
Paul said it would take a "great deal" for him to vote for Pompeo, including for him to say publicly, not privately, that he agreed with Trump's positions.
The senator would not say exactly what made his change his mind.
But Paul tweeted Monday, "After calling continuously for weeks for Director Pompeo to support President Trump's belief that the Iraq war was a mistake, and that it is time to leave Afghanistan, today I received confirmation the Director Pompeo agrees with @realDonaldTrump."
The full Senate is expected to vote later this week, and Pompeo will almost certain win confirmation.
The White House insisted Monday that Trump and Pompeo are on the same page on U.S. foreign policy and called for Paul to come aboard.
"Rand Paul should have faith in the president's decision as a supporter of his that he is making the right decision for our country," press secretary Sarah Sanders told Fox News. "He should certainly be supportive of what the president is trying to do and continue to be a good ally and partner with the administration."
She was far more critical of Democrats who planned to vote against Pompeo, saying, "At some point, Democrats have to decide whether they love this country more than they hate this president."
Sanders opened her daily press briefing noting that although at least three Democrats will vote for Pompeo, "a majority of Democrats continue their pointless obstruction to score cheap political points with their base as a willful attempt to undermine American diplomacy."
Asked whether Trump would consider Paul an obstructionist, Sanders demurred, saying Trump would not "think that those members are being helpful."
Paul's fellow Kentucky Republican senator, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, extolled Pompeo in remarks Monday on the Senate floor, saying it was difficult to imagine anyone better suited to the job. McConnell, who wants the full Senate to vote on Pompeo this week, noted that just over a year ago, the Senate had confirmed Pompeo to lead the CIA by a wide margin.
"His high-quality counsel on sensitive matters has won the confidence not only of our national clandestine service, but also of the commander in chief," McConnell said. "In Mike Pompeo, the United States will have a chief diplomat who enjoys the total confidence of the president and who is uniquely qualified to reinvigorate our foreign service and represent out interests abroad."
The Senate Intelligence Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for Gina Haspel, a Kentucky native, on May 9. The CIA on Friday released an internal memo that cleared Haspel of wrongdoing in the destruction of videotapes showing the waterboarding of terrorism suspects in 2005.
