Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mrs. ERNST. Mr. President, I rise in support of the President's nomination of Director Mike Pompeo to serve as Secretary of State.

Director Pompeo has a very long record of public service which has prepared him for this very important position. Let's start at the beginning.

Director Pompeo was top of his class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and he served honorably in the U.S. Army. He is also a graduate of Harvard Law School. In Congress, Director Pompeo was a leader on issues of national security and foreign relations. Finally, and most recently, as Director of the CIA, Director Pompeo has been a successful leader of the world's best intelligence professionals who work to resolve some of our Nation's most sensitive and difficult problems.

I have heard on the floor of the Senate recently a number of my colleagues who have called into question whether he should serve as our Nation's top diplomat. He has served in the military. He has served as Director of the CIA. What I want to do is go back to the time he spent at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

I wish to remind the body that in the military, we serve in many missions, but one of them does include diplomacy. As the Presiding Officer understands, as military members--whether a marine or a soldier--oftentimes during conflicts you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with members of other countries. You must have an understanding of the cultural effects and the cultural differences between our nations, and you work to resolve problems. Whether with the indigenous population or whether it is within the military ranks, we serve as diplomats.

At West Point, I know Director Pompeo learned this lesson very well. Many of us--whether you go through a military academy or whether you are going through a Reserve Officer Training Corps Program at a university like I did at Iowa State--you learn about what we call the instruments of national power. Those instruments of national power are called DIME. It is an acronym, D-I-M-E.

D stands for diplomacy. We learn that, again, as members of the military and as officers in our Nation's military--so diplomacy. The I is information. The M, of course, is military and military action. The E stands for economic action, such as sanctions.

Within the realm of diplomacy, we are taught and we work with Ambassadors, and we work through Embassies. We are taught about the realm of negotiations and treaties and various policies that affect different nations around the globe. We are engaging in international forums. Again, working in the defense space, of course, we have many opportunities to engage with leaders from other countries. Diplomacy-- it is the very basis of the instruments of national power that we all learn.

I know Director Pompeo, in his capacity--whether serving at the CIA or going back many years to when he served in the U.S. Army, quite admirably, or back at the Academy when he was first taught those instruments of national power, or DIME, that he is well-versed in working with many nations in very difficult circumstances. Again, Director Pompeo has a very long record of public service.

Director Pompeo also has had very strong relationships, and he values those relationships. His relationship with Secretary of Defense Mattis will prove invaluable as he works to ensure peace through strength. Additionally, I am confident he will inspire and lead the men and women of our State Department to achieve results for our Nation, and those results will be centered around diplomacy.

Director Pompeo understands the threats we face as a nation every day. During a time when the threats against the United States continue to grow around the globe, it is important--important--for President Trump to have his full diplomatic and national security team in place. We must do this. Diplomacy. Diplomacy.

Director Pompeo is also the right person to serve as our top diplomat. He will rise to meet the challenges and foster the relationships we need around the world to keep our Nation free, secure, and prosperous. Again, I go back to the instruments of national power: D-I-M-E. The first is always diplomacy. Director Pompeo understands, and I am glad that we as a body will be taking up his confirmation vote today.

I urge my colleagues to support this eminently qualified man as our next Secretary of State.

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