Washington: Mike Pompeo, President Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of state, advanced out of committee with a favorable recommendation, which means that he is now almost confirmed to be U.S.’ new Secretary of State i.e. the equivalent of a Foreign Minister. His confirmation will need another floor vote which right now is a mere formality.

Mike Pompeo was selected by Donald Trump to his cabinet after he fired his first Secretary of State - Rex Tillerson. Trump chose Pompeo for the CIA chief’s hawkish stance on foreign issues like Iran and North Korea which correspond with his own. Pompeo has moved into a central role in the Trump administration's negotiations with North Korea, secretly meeting with the country's reclusive leader Kim Jong-un earlier in the month.

Democrat party politicians, have raised concerns with what they view as Pompeo's hawkish posture on foreign policy, his bias against the LGBT community as well as Muslims and lack of willingness to stand up to Trump, which they say will not serve the country well.

Pompeo first rose to fame when he lambasted Hillary Clinton, then Secretary of State in Barack Obama’s government for the Benghazi attack in which a U.S. diplomat was killed. Pompeo had called Clinton, then on her way to becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, “morally reprehensible.”

At his confirmation hearing this month, Pompeo said  he would work to defend gay rights around the world, to work to rescue the Iran nuclear deal and to reverse the administration’s marginalization of American diplomats under his predecessor.

The Senate has also confirmed President Donald Trump's pick Paul Nakasone to lead the National Security Agency and the U.S. Cyber Command. On a voice vote, the Senate yesterday approved Paul Nakasone for one of the nation's top intelligence posts. They also approved his military promotion to general.

Nakasone, a longtime member of the cryptologic community, has a strong background in cyber issues. He is replacing the current director, Mike Rogers, who is retiring.

During his confirmation hearing, Nakasone said China, Russia and other nations that launch cyberattacks against the United States aren't worried about retribution and see no reason to change their behaviour.

"They don't fear us," he said at the hearing, adding that the U.S. must impose costs on those adversaries to make them stop. Nakasone previously commanded the US Army Cyber Command and held military intelligence positions in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Republic of Korea. (With Agency inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 25, 2018 03:16 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).