By Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Fox News
Mike Pompeo is leaving his post as CIA director to become President Trump’s new secretary of state, the White House announced on March 13.
Pompeo, who would be the first CIA director to head the State Department, is taking over the position ahead of Trump’s planned upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He’s replacing Rex Tillerson, a former ExxonMobil chief.
“I have gotten to know Mike very well over the past 14 months, and I am confident he is the right person for the job at this critical juncture,” Trump said in a statement. “He will continue our program of restoring America’s standing in the world, strengthening our alliances, confronting our adversaries, and seeking the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
Pompeo, 54, said he is “deeply grateful” to the president for the job and said he looks forward to “representing him and the American people to the rest of the world to further America’s prosperity.”
Should Pompeo be confirmed, read on for a look at the Trump administration’s newest secretary of state.
What is Pompeo’s background?
Pompeo graduated first in his class at West Point, where he “served with distinction in the U.S. Army,” Trump said after promoting him.
He is a former cavalry officer, who patrolled the Iron Curtain prior to the collapse of the Berlin Wall, according to his CIA biography. He served in the Army from 1986 to 1991.
Pompeo later received a law degree from Harvard University in 1994.
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