“The slander reveals a misunderstanding of the banana republics and democracy in America,” wrote Pompeo.
He also tweeted a photo of himself, National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien and National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe meeting. The message seemed clear: the three loyalists are not going anywhere until the end of the government and have no intention of breaking ties with the president.
And top Voice of America executives on Monday ordered the reassignment of a White House reporter, Patsy Widakuswara, hours after she tried to ask Mr Pompeo questions during his appearance on the federally funded news agency, according to two well-known people with the Events. The action was previously reported by the Washington Post.
But it was not just Mr Pompeo’s department that protested. So are the allies.
The secretary canceled his last trip abroad on Tuesday. The itinerary had already been shortened and a planned stopover in Luxembourg was initially canceled after Foreign Secretary Jean Asselborn interviewed Mr. Trump as a “criminal” and a “political pyromaniac” to fuel the unrest in the Capitol.
The State Department had said at the time that he was still traveling to Brussels “to reaffirm the deep and lasting partnership between the United States and Belgium and the unwavering US support for NATO”. But this stop was also canceled.
Instead, most of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s allies of the Trump presidency will remember the President’s episodic threats to withdraw from the alliance.
Since becoming Secretary of State in April 2018, Mr Pompeo has been Mr Trump’s most staunch and outwardly loyal national security officer. By Friday, when he first met with Antony J. Blinken, the election of Mr Biden as next Secretary of State, Mr Pompeo had largely avoided discussing the election results directly.
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