Pompeo said Tuesday he had not spoken to Blinken since Biden announced his selection. Pompeo also acknowledged General Services Administration Biden’s statement Monday as the clear winner of the 2020 presidential election.
“Today we started the process to see what the GSA’s decision was and we will do whatever the law requires,” he said. – We’re going to do this job.
Recognition of the GSA by Biden allows him to access federal transition funds and contact federal agencies to plan staff. However, President Donald Trump has still not accepted the election.
Pompeo has explicitly criticized former Obama administration officials for “leading from behind” in their relations with Iran, which he says the U.S. has “spent tens of billions of dollars” – giving them “the things that help build a nuclear weapon. program ”- until the Trump administration took power four years ago.
– The previous administration decided to give them a lot of money, money. We decided to deny them, ”he said.
Pompeo also responded to Tuesday’s statement by Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the under-Secretary of State under the Obama administration, whom Biden has appointed UN ambassador. Thomas-Greenfield stated that “multilateralism” and “diplomacy are back”. Pompeo contradicted his statement, saying the Trump government “has developed coalitions that really bring real results and reflect reality on the ground.”
“I couldn’t say exactly based on your statement, but multilateralism in order to have a good cocktail party hanging out with your buddies?” Pompeo said. – This is not in the interest of the United States.
The Biden transition team declined to comment on the Secretary of State’s criticism.
