Pompeo clashes with lawmakers over troop withdrawal in Germany and watchdog firing
Source: Washington Post
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo clashed bitterly with Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday in his first visit to the panel in more than a year.
Lawmakers grilled the nation’s top diplomat on an array of issues, including the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw 12,000 troops from Germany and Pompeo’s firing of the department’s internal watchdog, who had been investigating alleged wrongdoing by him and his wife.
The top Democrat on the committee, Sen. Robert Menendez, said the U.S. administration had “abetted” Russian President Vladimir Putin by withdrawing the troops from Germany and took aim at the central focus of Pompeo’s tenure, Iran, noting that the country “is much closer to a nuclear bomb than when you came into office.” He also criticized Pompeo’s “maximum pressure campaign” for failing to stop Iran’s aggressive actions in the Middle East.
Menendez said that for all of Pompeo’s “bluster against China,” it has not stopped Beijing’s “march in the South China Sea” or its “suppressing and oppressing its own people” in Hong Kong.
“Under your watch, the United States has faced setback after setback on the world stage, ceding leverage and influence to our stated adversaries,” Menendez said.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/pompeo-clashes-with-lawmakers-over-troop-withdrawal-in-germany-and-watchdog-firing/2020/07/30/186a1f8c-d272-11ea-af07-1d058ca137ae_story.html
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