FOREIGN POLICY/MIKE POMPEO/SECRETARY OF STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The confirmation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday [4-26-18] installed the final piece of President Donald Trump’s revamped foreign policy team, transforming his inner circle from a disparate group of strangers to a band of Washington insiders who have accrued more than 115 years of government service. As he lobbied the Senate for his confirmation, Mr. Pompeo, a former House lawmaker who most recently ran the Central Intelligence Agency, marketed himself as the official who could unify Mr. Trump’s foreign policy team, a tumultuous corner of the White House. After 16 months in office, Mr. Trump is on his second secretary of state and third national security adviser. Mr. Pompeo takes over as the nation’s top diplomat at a busy period. Consequential decisions are due shortly on whether to exempt countries from the steel and aluminum tariffs the president says are needed for national security, and whether to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. Mr. Pompeo is also playing a key role in fostering a high-stakes summit, expected in the next two months, between the president and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.”
–Michael C. Bender and Nancy A. Youssef, “Last Piece of the Puzzle: Pompeo Completes Trump’s New Foreign-Policy Team,” The Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2018 12:01 am