Sen. Tom Cotton on Wednesday chided Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer for a delay on a confirmation vote for CIA Director Mike Pompeo and suggested Mr. Schumer’s tenure as the top-ranking Democrat in the Senate might improve with “a little more seasoning and experience.”
Mr. Cotton, Arkansas Republican, said he has worked with Mr. Schumer on legislation before and found him to be “forthright” and “transactional.”
“On this particular instance, though, we all thought he had made a commitment to us that we would vote on Mike Pompeo’s nomination on Friday,” Mr. Cotton told radio host Hugh Hewitt.
“I guess he hadn’t taken the temperature of the Democratic caucus, though, so that was unfortunate,” he said.
“Senator Schumer is still in his first month of leadership, so maybe as he gets a little more seasoning and experience, this won’t happen again,” Mr. Cotton said.
“One of the first things we [learn] in the Army about being a leader is you have to have control of your unit, and hopefully in the future we’ll be able to rely more on what Senator Schumer says when we get a commitment from him,” he said.
The Senate ultimately voted to confirm Mr. Pompeo on Monday.
Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, said Tuesday that senators would vet President Trump’s nominees “thoroughly.”
“We’re not being dilatory, but we’re not going to just rush them through,” he said.
“These are all very important nominees and to have a few days discussion on them, that makes sense,” Mr. Schumer said. “They’re going to be in power for up to four years with tremendous say on how it affects Americans.”
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