April 23, 2018

Rand Paul Reverses Himself, Agrees to Support Mike Pompeo

Courage.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

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In a major reversal, Republican Sen. Rand Paul announced Monday afternoon that he would support Mike Pompeo’s nomination to be secretary of State. The Kentucky senator had previously criticized Pompeo’s support of the Iraq War and had threatened to vote against him in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Had Paul done so, Pompeo would likely have failed to win support from a majority of the committee—though he would likely still have been confirmed by the full Senate.

Paul tweeted Monday that he “received assurances” from President Donald Trump and Pompeo that Pompeo now believes “that the Iraq war was a mistake, and that it is time to leave Afghanistan.” Paul then announced he would vote in favor of Pompeo’s nomination.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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