FOEIGN POLICY/MIKE POMPEO/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo named former Fox News contributor Morgan Ortagus, a previous critic of President Donald Trump, as the new State Department spokesperson Wednesday [4-3-19]…Ortagus, a Navy reserve officer, was the anticipated pick for the job and has extensive foreign policy experience. But in 2016, she slammed then-candidate Trump for an ‘isolationist foreign policy approach’ and lambasted his mockery of the physically and mentally disabled as ‘disgusting,’ a CNN review found. With Wednesday’s announcement, it appears Ortagus is ready to join the Trump administration after turning down several opportunities to do so in the past, according to a source familiar. Her allies in the administration include several members of the Trump family, including senior adviser and daughter of the President Ivanka Trump, who Ortagus praised in an op-ed last week for her work on The Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also pushed for her hiring. And while she would replace another Fox News alum in former spokesperson Heather Nauert, allies emphasize that her foreign policy and communications experience significantly outweighs that of her predecessor.”
–Zachary Cohen and Caroline Kelly, “Pompeo names Morgan Ortagus as State Department spokeswoman,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, April 3, 2019 8:20 pm