Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, has not made a decision whether he will support Mike Pompeo for secretary of state.
"I am legitimately undecided," King said Tuesday on CNN’s "New Day."
King noted the differences between the job of secretary of state and the job of Central Intelligence Agency director, which Pompeo has held.
“I voted for him for head of the CIA. That is a very different job, that is essentially a job of reporting intelligence, of passing information to the president. That is not a policy job,” King said.
"Secretary of state is a whole different deal. Number one, you’re speaking for the country around the world. Number two, you are a pure policy adviser to the president," King said.
"I’m concerned about some of the positions he’s taken in regard to possible aerial strikes on Iran, North Korea, Islam, in the past," King said.
The senator said he was weighing Pompeo’s record.
"I’m just not sure he’s the guy who will be a moderating influence on a president who seems to make important decisions rather quickly," King said in the interview.
"I just want to be sure Mike Pompeo is going to be in that room saying, well, wait a minute, Mr. President, have you thought of this, have you thought of that?'"
In March, another senator, Sen. Rand Paul, R- Ky., expressed his disapproval of Pompeo, saying he would do "whatever it takes" to prevent block Pompeo’s nomination.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.