“No State Department resources will be used,” the official said. “Staff are not involved in preparing the remarks or in the arrangements for Secretary Pompeo’s appearance. The State Department will not bear any costs in conjunction with this appearance.”Pompeo’s plans have drawn criticism from other Democrats. “Secretary Pompeo is making a mockery of a sacred American office by choosing to speak at the Republican convention as a sitting secretary of state,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in a statement. “He exacerbates this disgrace by using a taxpayer-financed foreign trip to pull off this stunt.”Former Obama administration State Department official Wendy Sherman, who is a Democratic delegate, called Pompeo’s decision “unprecedented.”

Source: Washington Post August 25, 2020 11:47 UTC