Senate Approval of Mike Pompeo’s Secretary of State Nomination Would Spell Disaster for Planet Earth

A statement from leaders of national organizations urging the U.S. Senate to reject Mike Pompeo's nomination for Secretary of State, citing his climate change denial, hawkish foreign policy views, and record on human rights.

• The authors argue that Mike Pompeo is an unsuitable candidate for Secretary of State due to his denial of climate science and his ties to the Koch brothers. They note that Pompeo was the "all-time top recipient of Koch Industry money" during his tenure in Congress and has previously described Barack Obama's engagement with the U.N. Paris Climate Agreement as "bow(ing) down to radical environmentalists."
• Pompeo has explicitly rejected the view that climate change is a significant national security threat, despite assessments from the Department of Defense and National Intelligence Assessments. He told the Senate in the previous year that considering climate change a major national security threat is "ignorant, dangerous, and absolutely unbelievable."
• The document characterizes Pompeo as a "hawk's hawk" with a disdain for diplomacy, noting that during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, he did not indicate a desire to preserve the Iran nuclear deal and refused to rule out a first strike on North Korea.
• The authors assert that Pompeo's record on human and civil rights is disqualifying, stating he has expressed "deeply troubling views" regarding the rights of women, LGBTQ individuals, and Muslims.

APA

Fox, A. (2018). Senate Approval of Mike Pompeo’s Secretary of State Nomination Would Spell Disaster for Planet Earth. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/blog/senate-approval-mike-pompeos-secretary-state-nomination-spell-disaster-planet-earth/

Chicago

Fox, Audrey. Senate Approval of Mike Pompeo’s Secretary of State Nomination Would Spell Disaster for Planet Earth. Friends of the Earth, 2018. https://foe.org/blog/senate-approval-mike-pompeos-secretary-state-nomination-spell-disaster-planet-earth/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Fox |first1=Audrey |title=Senate Approval of Mike Pompeo’s Secretary of State Nomination Would Spell Disaster for Planet Earth |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=25 April 2018 |url=https://foe.org/blog/senate-approval-mike-pompeos-secretary-state-nomination-spell-disaster-planet-earth/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{fox2018senate, author = {Fox, Audrey}, title = {{Senate Approval of Mike Pompeo’s Secretary of State Nomination Would Spell Disaster for Planet Earth}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2018}, month = apr, url = {https://foe.org/blog/senate-approval-mike-pompeos-secretary-state-nomination-spell-disaster-planet-earth/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }