Top Arms Control Official Leaves State Dept.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that the undersecretary for arms control and foreign weapon sales had left the State Department.

Pompeo called Andrea Thompson, undersecretary for arms control and international security, "a dedicated public servant who brought over 25 years of military experience to her role at the State Department," Defense News reports.

"Her wealth of knowledge, experience, and leadership skills will be missed," Pompeo said in a statement announcing Thompson's departure. "I thank her for her commitment to the State Department's mission and for her decades of service to the United States of America.

"I wish her all the best in her future endeavors," the secretary said, though the statement did not disclose a reason for the departure.

Thompson, 53, a retired Army intelligence officer, served as national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence. She was confirmed to her State Department role in April 2018.

During her tenure, Thompson urged the administration to quit the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia, which President Donald Trump did in August.

The INF banned each nation from having nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.

In June, The Washington Post reported that Thompson failed to disclose during her confirmation process her personal and financial ties with a longtime Republican fundraiser who dated convicted Russian agent Maria Butina.

• Pompeo: Attack on Saudi Arabia an 'Act of War'
• Pompeo a Savvy Operator in a WH With High Turnover