Senate prepares to vote on Mike Pompeo

The White House • April 23, 2018 Driving the Day President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcome French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Mrs. Brigitte Macron, to Washington today. The First Couples will visit Mount Vernon tonight before France's official State Visit begins tomorrow. An inside look at hosting a State Visit State Dinners with foreign leaders date back to 1874. When King David Kalakaua of the Kingdom of Hawaii (later annexed by the United States) visited Washington that year, there was no guide for how President Ulysses S. Grant should welcome him. No matter how the visit went, it would set a precedent. The result was a tradition that continues to this day. President Trump hosts the first official State Visit of his Administration when President Macron and Mrs. Macron of France come to the White House. While President Trump has hosted numerous foreign leaders, tomorrow will mark the first ceremonial State Visit among them. State Visits are intricately planned to show respect for a visiting leader. The end goal of such events is practical. Just as negotiations over trade drove King Kalakaua to the White House nearly a century and a half ago, better trade deals will be a fixture of the conversations between Presidents Trump and Macron this week. Learn more about what goes into hosting an official State Visit. More: Watch as the First Lady prepares for France's State Visit. Senate prepares to vote on Mike Pompeo Mike Pompeo is the Secretary of State America needs. Last year, the Senate voted 66-32 to confirm Pompeo as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and the full Senate is expected to approve his nomination for Secretary of State in the coming weeks. He has served the CIA with distinction for the past 14 months. His nomination is earning widespread support. "Mike Pompeo has the intelligence, the integrity, and the experience to serve as America's secretary of State," Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) wrote last week. "We would be hard-pressed to find a nominee with greater experience and expertise," national security expert Michael Allen says. Director Pompeo's record speaks for itself. He was a leader long before he arrived in Washington, patrolling the Iron Curtain as a U.S. Cavalry officer in West Germany before the Berlin Wall fell. He has been an entrepreneur, a Congressman, and first in his class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He's ready. See why Mike Pompeo is ready to lead and what others are saying about his nomination. Photo of the Day Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead President Donald J. Trump with officers from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office | April 22, 2018