Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has drawn heavy criticism for his decision to give a speech Tuesday as part of the Republican National Convention. Pompeo will deliver the address from Jerusalem, where he's visiting in a diplomatic capacity.
Some analysts believe he's violating the Hatch Act by campaigning for President Trump while on a taxpayer-funded foreign trip, or, at the very least, ignoring a State Department memo — one he previously signed off on — which says Senate-confirmed officials should avoid appearing at partisan events. Harvard University's Nicholas Burns, who previously served as a senior U.S. diplomat, said Pompeo should be "focused on restoring America's lost global credibility." And Lauren Baer, a foreign policy adviser in the Obama administration, said the planned speech is "deeply troubling" for the future of U.S. diplomacy.
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