200+ Environmental Groups Call On US Senate To Reject Pompeo As Secretary Of State

More than 200 US environmental groups from across the country have signed a letter to senators urging the rejection of the nomination of Mike Pompeo for Secretary of State, citing his long history of climate change denial and “extreme anti-environment, anti-consumer safety agenda.”

Image Credit: Gage Skidmore, via Flickr

In a stark condemnation of the type of politics in vogue in Washington, advocacy group Food & Water Watch organized over 200 national, state, and local environmental groups from across the United States in opposition to Mike Pompeo as President Donald Trump’s nomination to fill the post of Secretary of State, which was recently vacated by Rex Tillerson, former chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil.

Pompeo, on the other hand, most recently served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), before which he was the member of the United States House of Representatives for Kansas’s 4th congressional district and a member of the Tea Party movement of the Republican Party.

His nomination to the position of Secretary of State has been met with condemnation, stemming from his political views and his hawkish policies. Pompeo faces a veritable grilling before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, hence the timing of Food & Water Watch’s own move to raise long-held concerns about Pompeo’s environmental positions.

“At a time when many of our military and diplomatic leaders are citing climate chaos as the greatest threat to global peace and stability, it’s downright absurd to consider placing Mike Pompeo, a belligerent climate denier, at the helm of the State Department,” argued Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “For the sake of our planet and future generations, the Senate must reject Pompeo’s nomination out of hand.”

Mike Pompeo’s opposition to issues of environmental concern and climate change are many, including simply questioning the science behind the scientific consensus on climate change, opposition to the Paris Climate Agreement, calling for the permanent elimination of wind power tax credits, and introducing legislation into the House that would expedite fossil fuel pipeline approval.

“At a time when our planet is rapidly warming and millions are being impacted by climate change supercharged hurricanes, fires, drought, mudslides, and more, the last thing we need is another climate denier in the White House administration; his nomination must be rejected,” the letter states (PDF). “Any senator who votes in support of his nomination to the important position of Secretary of State is complicit in advancing the Trump/Pompeo pro-fossil fuel, anti-climate agenda.”

The letter is signed by national groups such as 350.org, Greenpeace, Progressive Democrats of America, and Public Citizen.

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