Pompeo confronts senate’s ire over Trump’s policies on Russia, trade
The top US diplomat says he has been instructed to follow up on business-to-business exchanges with Russia and to re-establish a counterterrorism council
Washington (Bloomberg) — Secretary of State Michael Pompeo confronted harsh bipartisan questioning at the start of a Senate hearing dominated by legislators’ ire over President Donald Trump’s policies towards Russia and his trade strategy. "You come before a group of senators today who are filled with serious doubts about this White House and its conduct of American foreign policy," Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in his opening statement. "I can’t say it more forcefully. We really need a clear understanding as to what is going on." Corker also slammed the administration’s trade war with China and allies in Europe. White House briefings on trade policy have left senators without "a sense that there’s a coherent strategy driving these policies", said Corker who is retiring from the Senate and has had a contentious relationship with Trump. "The administration tells us, ‘Don’t worry, be patient, there’s a strategy here,’ but from where w...
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