Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., needs more information about Mitt Romney before he decides to vote for him as secretary of state, should President-elect Donald Trump nominate him.
Paul told Politico it comes down to Romney's views on Iraq and the Middle East and whether they are the same as Trump's.
"We need to know more about what Romney's viewpoint is," said Paul, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, whose vote for secretary of state could be critical. "I haven't heard a lot from him that parallels [Trump], so I want to hear from him that he understands the historical significance of the Iraq war, making us less safe, making the region less safe, and emboldening Iran.
"If people don't understand the unintended consequences of the Iraq War, I don't think they understand what Donald Trump said in the election."
Romney is one of four people in line for the job as America's top diplomat. Trump has met with him twice, including at dinner Tuesday night, as he tries to make up his mind on who should hold the high-profile position.
Romney was critical of Trump during the campaign earlier this year, but he has since changed his mind about the real estate mogul.
"I think you're going to see America continuing to lead the world in this century," Romney said Tuesday night. "And what I've seen through these discussions I've had with President-elect Trump, as well as what we've seen in his speech on the night of his victory, as well as the people he's selected as part of his transition — all of those things combined give me increasing hope that President-elect Trump is the very man who can lead us to that better future."
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