It’s been just two days since Rex Tillerson was fired as Secretary of State, and CIA Director Mike Pompeo nominated to replace him. This move comes at a pivotal time for US diplomacy–just last week, the White House announced a face-to-face meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.
So what can we expect from the Secretary of State designate? What does his past in congress and as director of the CIA suggest about how he will approach the job of Secretary of State? And what does his close relationship with the President mean for the role of the State Department in foreign policy decision making?
On the line with me to discuss these questions and more is Uri Friedman, a staff writer at the Atlantic who covers global affairs and US foreign policy. He has written extensively about US diplomacy and North Korea and in this episode he and I discuss the big implications of this shift in key foreign policy personnel. We also discuss the relevance of the Iran nuclear deal, which Pompeo has strongly opposed, to the North Korea negotiations.
If you have 20 minutes and want to learn more about what Mike Pompeo might bring to the job of Secretary of State and more broadly how his appointment may shape US foreign policy in the months ahead, have a listen.
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