Pompeo defends Trump on Russia, won’t talk about Mueller

Mike Pompeo, the CIA director nominated to be secretary of state, defended the Trump administration's efforts to push back on aggression from Russia at his confirmation hearing Thursday while suggesting more sanctions on Moscow are still needed. Yet he dodged repeatedly when Democrats tried to pin him down on President Donald Trump's handling of the special investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The National Enquirer, a Trump Rumor, and Another Secret Payment to…

Trump Allies and House Republicans to Paul Ryan: Get Out Now House Speaker Paul Ryan's retirement announcement Wednesday morning set off a round of heartburn within the White House and among its allies over the damage that may be done in what's left of his term. Trump chooses impulse over strategy as crises mount In a White House known for chaos, the process of developing the U.S. response to the Syrian government's alleged latest gas attack was proceeding with uncharacteristic deliberation, including several national security briefings for President Trump.

Pompeo cites Russian aggression, says diplomacy must go on

In this April 9, 2018, photo, Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo leaves a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Outgoing CIA Director Pompeo will tell senators weighing his confirmation as secretary of state that years of soft U.S. policy toward Russia are "now over."

Trump’s would-be secretary of state has an Islamophobia problem

Want smart analysis of the most important news in your inbox every weekday along with other global reads, interesting ideas and opinions to know? Sign up for the Today's WorldView newsletter . Mike Pompeo, the CIA director who was tapped by President Trump to lead the State Department, faces a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday.

Hundreds of ambassadors, diplomats urge Senate to grill Pompeo

Over 200 former ambassadors and veteran diplomats have signed a letter urging the Senate Foreign Relations committee to grill Mike Pompeo, who is President Trump's nominee to become the next Secretary of State. The letter, sent to Republican committee chairman Sen. Bob Corker and ranking Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, raises concerns that American diplomacy has been crippled and calls on the committee to question Pompeo on how he plans to fix it.

Consider the monger: 10 things to know for March 25

While some in Israel fete John Bolton's nomination, others see him in a different light, and he isn't the only one around selling war or hate John Bolton speaking at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Summit in Nashua, New Hampshire, on April 17, 2015. 1. The nomination of John Bolton as US national security adviser, continuing to reverberate through the Israeli media ecosystem, is being given new life by a revelation Sunday morning by former defense minister Shaul Mofaz that Bolton once tried to convince him to bomb Iran.

McCain presses Trump CIA nominee over her record on interrogations

Senator John McCain on Friday pressed President Donald Trump's nominee to be CIA director, Gina Haspel, for information about her ties to the agency's past use of harsh interrogation techniques, underscoring challenges she faces winning confirmation. FILE PHOTO: Gina Haspel, a veteran CIA clandestine officer picked by U.S. President Donald Trump to head the Central Intelligence Agency, is shown in this handout photograph released on March 13, 2018.

Trump replaces HR McMaster with John Bolton

President Donald Trump is replacing US National Security Adviser HR McMaster with Bush-era defence hawk and former United Nations ambassador John Bolton. Mr Bolton, who has backed attacking North Korea and Iran, told Fox News his job would be to ensure the president has "the full range of options".

Overdone Praise Is an Insult to Trump

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee March Dinner at the National Building Museum on March 20, 2018, in Washington, D.C. "As great as this president is, he's occasionally wrong." So spoke Senator Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican, by way of explaining his opposition to President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Trump Taps Uber-Hawk Bolton as National Security Advisor

President Donald Trump's choice of John Bolton as his national security advisor places a hard-line unilateralist and keen advocate of military power at the center of the White House. Bolton has explicitly called for a preemptive strike on North Korea, advocates bombing to force regime change in Iran, and wants an open-ended military presence in Afghanistan.

White House Rift Over Russia Deepens After Trump’s Putin Call

A battle within the White House over how to address Vladimir Putin is intensifying as U.S. President Donald Trump shows little desire to confront the Russian leader on the most controversial issues facing the two nations. The internal divisions flared this week after Trump congratulated Putin on his re-election without first reviewing written guidance for the phone call, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Republican Senators Spar over Trump Nominees to Head State Department, CIA

Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on "Worldwide Threats" on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 13, 2018. Two U.S. Republican senators sparred Sunday over President Donald Trump's nomination of Mike Pompeo, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, as his new secretary of state, and deputy CIA chief Gina Haspel to take over at the intelligence agency.

White House, Sen. Cotton blast Rand Paul for opposing CIA pick

Sen. Rand Paul's opposition to President Donald Trump's pick to head the Central Intelligence Agency drew fire Friday from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue - first by a key Senate Republican colleague, then by the White House. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders accused Paul of conveying "incorrect information" about CIA nominee Gina Haspel and said the White House plans to set the record straight.

In Pompeo, Trump has the enabler for his multifaceted China policy

Ankit Panda writes that while Rex Tillerson's State Department drifted away from the White House, the new secretary may boost diplomacy's role in enacting Trump's agenda US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's services are no longer required, President Donald Trump has determined. Instead, Trump has chosen Mike Pompeo, currently the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, to succeed Tillerson, the former ExxonMobil executive, as America's top diplomat.

Tillerson Replaced With Pompeo In Dramatic Shakeup

President Donald Trump unceremoniously dumped Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday - by tweet - and picked CIA Director Mike Pompeo to take his place, abruptly ending Tillerson's turbulent tenure as America's top diplomat and escalating the administration's chaotic second-year shake-up.