In a Washington Examiner article published on April 13th, BGS Managing Director Michael Allen offers a look at Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo.

Mike Pompeo isn’t just qualified to be secretary of state – he’s ready

By Michael Allen April 13, 2018, 11:49 AM

As originally appeared in Washington Examiner

This week, CIA Director Mike Pompeo began his confirmation hearings to serve as the new secretary of state, one of the United States’ most important Cabinet positions. In this role, he will be responsible for managing the Department of State and setting our nation’s foreign policy as its top diplomat.

We would be hard-pressed to find a nominee with greater experience and expertise.

As a West Point graduate, a Harvard-trained lawyer, a former member of Congress, and director of the CIA, Pompeo is more than qualified to lead the State Department.

Throughout his distinguished career, Pompeo has empowered his staff to make decisions with efficiency and accountability. His experience in the private sector as an entrepreneur provided him with the skills necessary to manage and lead a department of dedicated professionals and global experts. Pompeo founded Thayer Aerospace, where he served as CEO for more than a decade before becoming president of Sentry International, an oilfield equipment manufacturing company.

During his four terms in Congress representing Kansas’s 4th Congressional District, Pompeo served on the House Intelligence Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee. I got to know him during his service on the House Intelligence Committee, where his instincts and intellect were first rate. His work on those committees, as well as his subsequent government service, made him privy to the nation’s most closely held intelligence since 2010.

As CIA director, he led the implementation of new methods to interdict certain shipments that violate sanctions on North Korea. The CIA has also worked with the Department of Defense and U.S. allies to target Islamic State leadership and reduce the terror group’s territorial holdings in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere.

Pompeo has been a vocal leader in addressing the security issues posed by Iran, North Korea, and Israel. He played a critical role in providing intelligence that shaped the administration’s China policy and is intimately familiar with the delicate and classified issues that our country faces abroad. He is known for his experience, intelligence, and judgment.

The secretary of state must have the trust of the president in order to represent the United States well on the world stage. Pompeo has earned the confidence of President Trump through his exceptional work as the CIA director over the past 15 months. If confirmed to his new role, Pompeo will carry forward the president’s “America First” foreign policy agenda, working alongside the president and his administration to bolster American leadership worldwide.

Pompeo’s deep understanding of world affairs, his clear-eyed view of the threats to our national security, and his key relationships with world leaders make him an excellent choice to be our top diplomat.

I hope Democrats will support Pompeo, as have dozens of national security and intelligence professionals that have applauded Pompeo’s nomination. It was just last year that 14 Democratic senators voted to confirm him as CIA director. These Democrats highlighted his competence and dedication to serving the country — there is no reason why they shouldn’t support him again.

With ongoing talks of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and recent chemical attacks on Syrian civilians, we must have someone who is ready to make an impact on Day One. Pompeo is not only qualified — he is ready. I urge the Senate to swiftly approve his nomination so he can get to work on behalf of our great country.