Rand Paul to support Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State

Senate panel voted to recommend Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, sending nomination to full Senate.

Sen. Rand Paul has announced he will support President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, scuttling speculation that the current CIA director might not clear a critical Senate panel.

“Having received assurances from President Trump and Director Pompeo that he agrees with the President on these important issues, I have decided to support his nomination to be our next Secretary of State,” Mr. Paul Tweeted on Monday afternoon.

During a White House event with French President Emmanuel Macron, President Trump said Mr. Paul “never let us down” and is “a good man.”

The Kentucky Republican had vowed to oppose Mr. Pompeo, which would have blocked his approval by the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

Republicans have an 11-10 majority on the committee but Mr. Paul previously cited Pompeo’s support for the Iraq war, his hawkish stance on Iran, and his past support of waterboarding and other interrogation methods — as reasons to oppose him.

Even with the switch by Mr. Paul, Republicans faced another unexpected last-minute hurdle with the absence of Sen. Johnny Isakson, Georgia Republican, who missed Monday’s vote to attend a funeral back home.

With Mr. Isakson not there, the panel faced a 10-10 tie vote that would effectively be registered as negative verdict on the nomination by the committee as it headed to the full Senate, even though the Georgian had made clear he supported Mr. Pompeo.

But at the last minute, Sen. Chris Coons, Delaware Democrat, offered as a compromise to also vote “present,” despite his opposition. The result: The committee officially recommended the nominee for confirmation on a party-line 10-9 vote.

The full Senate is still expected to consider his nomination later this week.

• S.A. Miller contributed to this report.