About Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump's Proposed Secretary of State

After months of media speculation about Rex Tillerson's fate at the U.S. State Department, Donald Trump on Tuesday, March 13, dismissed him from his position and appointed Mike Pompeo, the head of the CIA, as his successor. Below is a look at Mr. Pompeo's background and views: Mike Pompeo was born in Southern California. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986 with a degree in engineering. He served in the Army for five years but was never deployed to combat. After that, he went to Harvard University to study law. Shortly thereafter, he founded an engineering company in Wichita, Kansas. His financial backers included influential groups such as the Koch brothers. In 2010, with the financial support of the Koch brothers, Mike Pompeo won his first election to the U.S. House of Representatives. In his first year in Congress, he left a record in the energy sector that aligned with the views of the Koch brothers. He then became a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which oversees intelligence activities, including the CIA. Mike Pompeo's name became prominent after the establishment of a committee to investigate the attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya. He became one of the most serious critics of Hillary Clinton, the then Secretary of State. At 54 years old, Mike Pompeo regularly reports on security matters to the President of the United States. Reuters has referred to him as the most serious advocate for a tough stance among Donald Trump's inner circle. Mr. Pompeo is one of the officials who does not take the issue of possible Russian interference in the recent U.S. presidential election very seriously. He has stated that Russia has always sought to interfere in U.S. elections. In February, after it was announced that Mr. Pompeo had met with the head of Russia's security and intelligence agency at CIA headquarters, he dismissed the criticisms. Mike Pompeo, along with Donald Trump, is a serious critic of the Iran nuclear deal known as the JCPOA. A few months ago, he stated, 'Iran is on the rise to become a hegemonic power in the region.' He is a strong supporter of tracking and storing information related to citizens' communications in the U.S. In an article published two years ago, he called for the resumption of storing phone metadata and transforming it, along with financial and lifestyle information, into a searchable source. Before becoming head of the CIA, Mr. Pompeo was a conservative Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives and a representative from Kansas. Donald Trump has said of Mike Pompeo, 'He and I think alike.'