Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) announced that he will be voting for secretary of state nominee Mike Pompeo Monday evening just before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee vote, a complete reversal from his statements earlier in the week.
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.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) April 23, 2018
His flip-flop will likely lead the committee to pass the nomination on to a floor vote, where enough Democrats have committed their support to ensure Pompeo’s confirmation.
Less than a week ago, Paul was painting himself as staunchly against Pompeo, citing his support of the Iraq War and interrogation methods Paul considers torture as disqualifying factors.
“I think the debate over whether or not America is a country in favor of torture or not is an important one,” he reportedly said at a Wednesday press conference. “I’m going to do everything I can to block them.”
Trump has been leaning on Paul in an attempt to get the Republican bloc in line, a necessity with such a slim Senate majority.
