Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo is facing a pivotal vote on the Foreign Relations Committee Monday that will show to what extremes Democrats are willing to go to fight President Trump.
Democrats are mulling a bold and unusual strategy to bottle Pompeo’s nomination up in committee, but the gambit doesn’t yet have full buy-in from the Democratic caucus. Some centrists facing tough reelection races are worried about being labeled obstructionists.
Yet Democratic lawmakers are under intense pressure from the party’s liberal base to oppose Trump at every turn, and senators jockeying for the 2020 presidential nomination are setting the tone when it comes to defying the president.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a potential White House contender, has led the opposition, grilling Pompeo earlier this month about his views on Muslim Americans and gay marriage.