BOSTON — Today, White House officials confirmed a new plan to oust Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replace him with C.I.A. director and former member of Congress Mike Pompeo. It’s rumored that Tillerson may be forced out in the next few weeks with Rep. Pompeo to step in by early 2018. Rep. Pompeo, who represented Wichita, Kansas, where Koch Industries is based, has been called the Koch Brothers’ favorite congressman and has been criticized for bigoted and Islamophobic statements and views.
Please see Corporate Accountability President Kelle Louaillier’s statement below:
As Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson was one of the most blatant revolving door cases in the Trump administration and a clear sign that Trump’s government was of, by, and for the fossil fuel industry. But make no mistake: Mike Pompeo could be far worse.
Once again, this administration has proven that just when you think things can’t get any worse, Donald Trump and his cronies will find a way. Now, instead of having a former fossil fuel CEO at the helm of foreign policy, the United States will have an Islamophobic Koch Brothers shill — who built his own business using Koch money and owes his political career first and foremost to their deep pockets. In Congress, Pompeo received more money from the Koch Brothers than any other member, and more than twice the Koch’s next highest benefactor — Paul Ryan.
And if that weren’t bad enough, Koch’s hometown boy Pompeo has expressed extremist, bigoted and Islamophobic views. He has defended torture programs and supported unconstitutional surveillance by the federal government. He is one of the most dangerous Trump appointees yet.
Not only will the Koch Brothers now have a direct line to the State Department, Pompeo will lead U.S. foreign policy down the same dark, bigoted and Islamophobic path of Donald Trump’s Twitterfeed.
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