--- title: Who Is Mike Pompeo? Trump Nominates Next Secretary of State description: Who exactly is Mike Pompeo? Here's what you need to know about President Donald Trump's new choice for Secretary of State canonical: https://time.com/5197396/who-is-mike-pompeo-cia/ author: Aric Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-13T17:09:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:38:05.732Z article:section: Politics og:title: Who Is Mike Pompeo? What to Know About the Next Secretary of State og:description: Here's everything you need to know about President Trump's new nominee og:url: https://time.com/5197396/who-is-mike-pompeo-cia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt281edc69412fc831/6988b5780a4a2251ee9cc8d2/mike-pompeo-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Senate Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing For Rep. Mike Pompeo To Become Director Of C.I.A. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Who Is Mike Pompeo? What to Know About the Next Secretary of State twitter:description: Here's everything you need to know about President Trump's new nominee twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt281edc69412fc831/6988b5780a4a2251ee9cc8d2/mike-pompeo-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Who Is Mike Pompeo? What to Know About the Next Secretary of State > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Mar 13, 2018 5:09 PM UTC  Donald Trump's nominee for the director of the CIA, Rep. Mike Pompeo attends his confirmation hearing before the Senate (Select) Intelligence Committee on Jan. 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump's nominee for the director of the CIA, Rep. Mike Pompeo attends his confirmation hearing before the Senate (Select) Intelligence Committee on Jan. 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. Joe Raedle—Getty Images by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Mar 13, 2018 5:09 PM UTC After months of tension, President Donald Trump on Tuesday [fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson](http://time.com/5197201/president-trump-removes-secretary-of-state-rex-tillerson/) on Tuesday, announcing he would nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him. Trump was quick to praise his new pick for the cabinet position, [writing on Twitter](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/973540316656623616) that Pompeo “will do a fantastic job!” Other top Republicans added their seal of approval as well. “He understands very clearly the international challenges and the opportunities before America in the 21st Century,” Sen. Marco Rubio [tweeted](https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/973556068684091392). “No one understands the threat posed by North Korea & Iran better than he does,” Sen. Lindsey Graham [added](https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/973563065827459072). Here’s what you need to know about Trump’s new choice for Secretary of State. ## Who is Mike Pompeo? The departing CIA director got his political start in the House of Representatives, where he served three terms as a Kansas Republican. Prior to his entry into politics, Pompeo grew up in Orange County, California, and attended the United States Military Academy at West Point until 1986\. After graduating first in his class with a specialization in mechanical engineering, he served as a cavalry officer in the Army until 1991\. Pompeo then concluded his military career and set off for Harvard Law School, where he took up the position as editor of the Harvard Law Review before graduating in 1994. Pompeo’s political views have been described as aggressive. He campaigned for Congress as a Tea Party Republican and took hardline stances on Iran (he considers it a national security threat), Guantanamo Bay prison (he believes it should remain open), the use of torture (he defends it), and Hillary Clinton’s involvement with the 2012 Benghazi attack (he harshly condemned her). ## Does Mike Pompeo need to be confirmed by the Senate? Yes, Pompeo will once again need to be confirmed by the Senate for his new role as Secretary of State. The hearing will be headed by Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican who has [clashed with Trump](http://time.com/4994797/bob-corker-donald-trump/) in the past. “I had a very good conversation with Director Pompeo this morning and look forward to meeting with him soon,” Corker said in a statement Tuesday. “As I shared with the president, the committee will consider his nomination as expeditiously as possible.” > [](https://twitter.com/LauraLitvan/status/973573870446960645) The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to hold the confirmation hearing in April. Pompeo was confirmed for his role as CIA director by a vote of 66 to 32. ## What has Mike Pompeo said about Russia? Pompeo believes strongly Russia is a potential national security threat. Speaking at a foreign policy panel in Washington in October 2015, the then-Congressman [said](https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4632257/rep-pompeo-taking-russia-syria) that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “heck bent on changing the geopolitical future,” and said that President Barack Obama was not being tough enough on the country. In January, Pompeo [told the BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42864372) that he was confident that Russia would attempt to meddle in the upcoming midterm elections. “Of course. I have every expectation that they will continue to try and do that, but I’m confident that America will be able to have a free and fair election \[and\] that we will push back in a way that is sufficiently robust that the impact they have on our election won’t be great,” he told the outlet. ## Who would take over for Mike Pompeo at the CIA? [Gina Haspel](http://time.com/5197235/gina-haspel-cia-director-donald-trump/), deputy director of the CIA, is in line to to fill Pompeo’s position. Trump confirmed the nomination in a tweet and noted that she would be “the first woman so chosen” to run the agency. Hapsel has [faced backlash](http://time.com/5197235/gina-haspel-cia-director-donald-trump/) for overseeing the torture of terrorism suspects while at the CIA and the destruction of videotaped evidence of the incidents. She will also need to face the Senate in order to be confirmed for the new position. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5197396/who-is-mike-pompeo-cia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5197396/who-is-mike-pompeo-cia/"},"headline":"Who Is Mike Pompeo? 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