Republican concerned for Pompeo amid Iran threats after Trump pulls security detail
Republican concerned for Pompeo amid Iran threats after Trump pulls security detail
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Former secretary of state has faced threats from Iran since since he took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic. The Ohio Republican Mike Turner said on Sunday’s Face the Nation he is “very concerned” for former secretary of state Mike Pompeo after Donald Trump revoked his security detail earlier in the week.
Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump’s first administration, were told of the loss of protection on Wednesday evening. Just a day earlier Trump similarly ended protection for his former national security adviser John Bolton, who was fired as national security adviser during Trump’s first term, and became a vocal Trump critic.
Bolton later wrote a book whose publication the White House unsuccessfully sought to block on grounds that it disclosed national security information. Bolton, who has been targeted for assassination by Iran, said in a statement that he was disappointed but not surprised by the decision.
Two senior Republican senators on Sunday urged Trump to rethink his decision to strip personal security to Bolton and Pompeo. “I would encourage the president to revisit the decision for those people who are being targeted by Iran,” Tom Cotton, chair of the US Senate intelligence committee, told Fox News Sunday.
