Mike Pompeo accused of using Jerusalem as 'political prop' in upcoming RNC speech

(Image credit: DEBBIE HILL/AFP via Getty Images)

published 24 August 2020

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has drawn heavy criticism for his decision to give a speech Tuesday as part of the Republican National Convention. Pompeo will deliver the address from Jerusalem, where he's visiting in a diplomatic capacity.

Some analysts believe he's violating the Hatch Act by campaigning for President Trump while on a taxpayer-funded foreign trip, or, at the very least, ignoring a State Department memo — one he previously signed off on — which says Senate-confirmed officials should avoid appearing at partisan events. Harvard University's Nicholas Burns, who previously served as a senior U.S. diplomat, said Pompeo should be "focused on restoring America's lost global credibility." And Lauren Baer, a foreign policy adviser in the Obama administration, said the planned speech is "deeply troubling" for the future of U.S. diplomacy.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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