Democratic Senators: Reject the “Congressman from Koch” Mike Pompeo for Secretary of State
Democratic Senators
Add your name to tell Senate Democrats to stop the Koch Brothers' most loyal lapdog from becoming one of the most powerful politicians in our country. If you really care about climate change, you must #StopPompeo.
This month, hearings will begin for Mike Pompeo to replace Rex Tillerson as the new Secretary of State.
Mike Pompeo is infamously known as the “Congressman from Koch” and the top all-time recipient of Koch Industries campaign contributions. During his time in congress, he vocally and adamantly blocked progress on climate action, curried favors for Big Oil and Gas, and regularly spread misinformation and lies about climate science to help pad the Koch Brothers’ pocketbooks.
On top of that, Pompeo's anti-Muslim rhetoric, war-hawkishness, and abysmal record on human rights pose a recipe for disaster that, combined with his backwards stances on climate change, could hurt billions worldwide.
Voting to #StopPompeo should be a no-brainer for any congressperson who cares about our health, home, and future, but 66 Senators voted to approve Pompeo for his current position as CIA Director. This includes 15 Senate Democrats, who according to the 2016 Democratic platform “share a deep commitment to tackling the climate challenge.” It includes supposed climate champions like Senator Whitehouse and Schatz, and it includes the Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
We can’t let Democratic Senators get away with rubber-stamping Trump’s trade of ExxonMobil for Koch Industries to represent the American people to the world and negotiate our international climate policy.
For politicians claiming to care about our generation, blocking men like Pompeo who are made and paid for by oil executives is the bare minimum.
Add your name to tell Senate Democrats to stop Big Oil’s most loyal lapdog from becoming one of the most powerful politicians in our country. If you really care about climate change, you must #StopPompeo.
Sponsored by
To:
Democratic Senators
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Members of the Senate Democratic Caucus,
I am calling on you to vote against President Trump’s latest pick for Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and ask that your colleagues do the same, in order to prevent a further deterioration of climate action and diplomacy at the State Department.
Before his ascension to the role of CIA Director in 2017, Rep. Mike Pompeo was considered the “Koch Brothers’ Congressman.” He received the largest sum of Koch campaign contributions in 2010 and avidly pursued their agenda of climate denial and Big Oil handouts. This includes an attempt in 2011 to amend House budget legislation to eliminate funding for a program of the Environmental Protection Agency that tracks greenhouse gas polluters, a top legislative priority of Koch Industries.
By replacing Exxon Mobil with Koch Industries at the helm of American diplomacy, President Trump has chosen a candidate who will more aggressively disrupt U.S. involvement in international venues such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (note Secretary Tillerson was reportedly in favor of staying in the Paris Agreement). Pompeo’s hawkish agenda could irreparably limit future administration’s ability to re-engage in global climate action and reenter the Paris Agreement.
The 2016 Democratic Platform states that: “Democrats share a deep commitment to tackling the climate challenge.” Mike Pompeo comes far from sharing that commitment, and Democrats can show theirs by voting to reject him for Secretary of State. From Big Oil to the NRA, young people in this country are tired of the failed politics that have sold out our futures. If Senate Democrats are incapable of siding with our generation, then we will replace them with leaders who will.
Sincerely,