18 Jan 2019 7:22 pm
Why are we paying for Mike Pompeo to bring his wife on an official trip?
Drain the swamp!
These people are tone deaf.Susan Pompeo's travels during shutdown angers some diplomats.
At a time when most State Department staff weren't allowed to travel for work and some weren't even allowed to use their work phones, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's wife Susan embarked on an eight-day trip with her husband, requiring unpaid staffers to prepare and support her across the Middle East.
Many diplomats, already demoralized by the partial government shutdown, were angry, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
"Eyebrows were raised from the start, from the planning, on why is she coming, and why is she coming during the shutdown?," one person familiar with the matter told CNN.
A senior State Department official said "This is BS. You don't bring more people that need staffing, transportation, etc. when embassy employees are working without being paid."
It was Susan Pompeo's presence on the trip at a time State Department staff are working without pay that seemed to cause the furor.
There are also questions over whether the use of State Department staffers' time to assist her violated federal regulations.
Drain the swamp!