U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has moved to fill some of the top positions in his government by selecting a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director, a national security adviser, and an attorney general, RFE/RL reports.
Trump said in a statement he had chosen Representative Mike Pompeo (Republican-Kansas) to be CIA director, retired General Michael Flynn for the post of national security adviser, and Senator Jeff Sessions (Republican-Alabama) as the country`s top prosecutor, according to RFE/RL.
The publication notes that Pompeo, who is currently a member of the House Intelligence Committee is known in particular for his statements in support of Ukraine in its resistance to Russian aggression.
In April 2014, Mike Pompeo visited Ukraine and then stated that the aim of Russian President Vladimir Putin was ”to take control of Ukraine”, and stressed that in order to reiterate support for the Ukrainian authorities, Washington could disrupt Putin`s plans and boost the risks for him.
Pompeo and Sessions require confirmation by a majority vote in the Senate; Flynn does not.
Trump said Pompeo will be a ”brilliant and unrelenting leader” as chief of the CIA.
Pompeo is a member of the Republican Party`s conservative wing, the Tea Party, having been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010.
He graduated top of his class from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and graduated from Harvard Law School before spending five years in the army.
Trump said he was happy to have Flynn by his side to ”defeat radical Islamic terrorism.”
Flynn, 57, served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2012 to 2014, a position he was nominated for by President Barack Obama.
He served in the military from 1981 to 2014, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, before retiring with the rank of lieutenant general.
Flynn graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College as well as the Naval War College.
He says he considers radical Islam the greatest threat to global stability and has been critical of the Obama administration`s policies in fighting IS.
Flynn has said Washington could work with Russia to fight IS and other Islamic extremists. His appearance at a dinner in Moscow — sitting next to President Vladimir Putin — honoring the state television station RT alarmed many who noted his previous accommodating views of Russia`s role in Ukraine.
See also: Trump`s key quotes on Ukraine and Russian agression (tweets, videos, links)
